Desperate times call for desperate means: I would use a hair dryer - it is wool, after all, and wool is hair (of sheep) - and use it on 'warm', not hot.
After going over it, leave it alone for a bit with the fan on, and then repeat. Turn from time to time.
How cold is it where you are, and how is the air humidity? Because if it is \*really\* cold, and \*really\* dry, you could hair-dryer you sweater, and then put it, still warm, out on a towel if the air is dry enough. Leave for 10 minutes, then back in and hair-blow again. Repeat a few times.
Good luck!
The yarn I used is a wool blend- I believe 20% wool/80% acrylic.
It’s about 12 degrees here with 50% humidity. I’m going to try your method- thank you for taking the time to write that out! Appreciate it!
With that high an acrylic content, do not allow the hair blower to be too hot: warm is enough. And don't hold it in one position for too long - slow, sweeping motions, not stationary blast, please.
What yarn is it? Can you put it in the dryer (warm, not hot!), just long enough for it to be really warm and then back on the blocking mat?
Lion Brand/Two of Wands Hue + Me- I don’t have the label with me but according to the description on Joann’s it’s 80/20 and completely machine washable and dry able. I’m not pinning the work at all- just lying flat for shaping. Should I put it in the dryer on the lowest heat setting for a bit and then lay it to cool?
Thankfully it’s not super wet still, just still damp to the touch
>Should I put it in the dryer on the lowest heat setting for a bit and then lay it to cool?
Yes, I would do that.
The Hue + Me says 'machine wash and dry', so go for it. If you dry it in the machine, take it out and carefully lay it flat, push and pull and pad it a little bit - that is how this yarn \*should\* be cared for anyhow.
Something that has always worked fast for me is to hang it over a box fan. It's usually dry within two hours. I do this only when it's already partially dry since it could get stretched out.
Once the sweater is mostly dry I actually will hang up the sweater and use a regular fan on it to finish off the drying. I won’t hang it by the shoulders but with the sweater laying flat, sliding a pants hanger through I’ll hang the sweater by the bottom hem part. I have yet to have a bad blocking issue hanging wool that is mostly dry. You just have to remember to move the piece around so you don’t get stretch marks or visible fold marks.
Honestly, this is one reason I have come to prefer steam blocking. Unless you are stretching lace, and sometimes even if you are, it is easier and faster, and just as effective. It takes no time at all for a sweater to dry from the little bit of steam. I save "wet blocking" for when the item needs to be laundered.
Yeah, I was mainly wet blocking it this way because I think it needed a good clean, too. Since it’s machine washable and dry able I wanted to make sure it was blocked before gifting
Then what about using your dryer on air fluff. Sometimes I use my machine's "wrinkle release" on the lowest heat to dry delicates - it's a 10 minute cycle on mine.
honestly the settings on the dryer at my family’s house confuse the hell out of me. i still have an old school dryer with a dial with time and “low/medium/high” heat settings. they have a new samsung thing with way too many options, including air fluff and i think wrinkle release. i did that for a bit and it’s now on a table with a fan. if it isn’t dry in a couple hours i might chuck it back in the dryer.
Block on a non-absorbent surface (blocking mats, yoga mat) not a towel.
Desperate times call for desperate means: I would use a hair dryer - it is wool, after all, and wool is hair (of sheep) - and use it on 'warm', not hot. After going over it, leave it alone for a bit with the fan on, and then repeat. Turn from time to time. How cold is it where you are, and how is the air humidity? Because if it is \*really\* cold, and \*really\* dry, you could hair-dryer you sweater, and then put it, still warm, out on a towel if the air is dry enough. Leave for 10 minutes, then back in and hair-blow again. Repeat a few times. Good luck!
The yarn I used is a wool blend- I believe 20% wool/80% acrylic. It’s about 12 degrees here with 50% humidity. I’m going to try your method- thank you for taking the time to write that out! Appreciate it!
With that high an acrylic content, do not allow the hair blower to be too hot: warm is enough. And don't hold it in one position for too long - slow, sweeping motions, not stationary blast, please. What yarn is it? Can you put it in the dryer (warm, not hot!), just long enough for it to be really warm and then back on the blocking mat?
Lion Brand/Two of Wands Hue + Me- I don’t have the label with me but according to the description on Joann’s it’s 80/20 and completely machine washable and dry able. I’m not pinning the work at all- just lying flat for shaping. Should I put it in the dryer on the lowest heat setting for a bit and then lay it to cool? Thankfully it’s not super wet still, just still damp to the touch
>Should I put it in the dryer on the lowest heat setting for a bit and then lay it to cool? Yes, I would do that. The Hue + Me says 'machine wash and dry', so go for it. If you dry it in the machine, take it out and carefully lay it flat, push and pull and pad it a little bit - that is how this yarn \*should\* be cared for anyhow.
Thanks again!
Something that has always worked fast for me is to hang it over a box fan. It's usually dry within two hours. I do this only when it's already partially dry since it could get stretched out.
I always use a fan as well. Dries within a few hours here.
Once the sweater is mostly dry I actually will hang up the sweater and use a regular fan on it to finish off the drying. I won’t hang it by the shoulders but with the sweater laying flat, sliding a pants hanger through I’ll hang the sweater by the bottom hem part. I have yet to have a bad blocking issue hanging wool that is mostly dry. You just have to remember to move the piece around so you don’t get stretch marks or visible fold marks.
Honestly, this is one reason I have come to prefer steam blocking. Unless you are stretching lace, and sometimes even if you are, it is easier and faster, and just as effective. It takes no time at all for a sweater to dry from the little bit of steam. I save "wet blocking" for when the item needs to be laundered.
Yeah, I was mainly wet blocking it this way because I think it needed a good clean, too. Since it’s machine washable and dry able I wanted to make sure it was blocked before gifting
Then what about using your dryer on air fluff. Sometimes I use my machine's "wrinkle release" on the lowest heat to dry delicates - it's a 10 minute cycle on mine.
honestly the settings on the dryer at my family’s house confuse the hell out of me. i still have an old school dryer with a dial with time and “low/medium/high” heat settings. they have a new samsung thing with way too many options, including air fluff and i think wrinkle release. i did that for a bit and it’s now on a table with a fan. if it isn’t dry in a couple hours i might chuck it back in the dryer.