Today we will talk about how to block a tissue.
It has happened to them that they finish their fabric and find that it does not look well finished, and instead they enter a store where they sell handmade fabrics and are struck by how well finished they look. If this has happened to you, it is because you need to block your fabric.
Blocking a fabric is a procedure that is done to the fabric, so that the fibers or points are organized and have a better appearance, making your fabric look very well finished.
There are different ways to block a fabric, but basically what you do is dampen or wet the project and stretch it.
For this we will use the following materials: A fabric, a blocking MAT (EVA foam), something to wet the fabric with (it can be a sprayer or a container to immerse it in) and the fabric blockers.
You start by moistening the fabric very well, you can submerge it in a container of water for about 5-10 minutes so that the fabric is soaked or you can spray it with water. I personally like this last technique, since I like to block the fabric in the middle of the project and not only when I finish it, since this allows me to organize the fiber, it gives me an idea of how the fabric will turn out, the stitch and the yarn, and above all it will give me an idea of the real size of my project.
Once the fabric is very wet, we begin to apply the blockers, taking care to mark the edges well, giving importance to what we want to achieve with the blocking, in this case that the fabric has a uniform shape.
To do this, we stretch the fabric well and place the blocks on all sides until it is very square, well stretched, and we leave it until it is very dry to the touch.
Once it is dry, we remove the blocks and we can see the result. We will have a more even, orderly fabric, with a better shape and the best thing is that the stitch stands out even more.
It should be noted that the different types of yarn behave differently when blocking, the most natural fibers such as linen, alpaca, merino wool, etc. are more susceptible to blocking, meaning that they will grow even more, the point is It will define much better and its edges will be better finished. On the other hand, yarns with a higher percentage of acrylic are less susceptible to blocking.
I hope this information has been useful to you in order to give a better finish to your fabrics.
See you in the next blog!
