- 1). Moisten the knit item using any of several methods: Immerse it in a tub of water and gently lift it out without agitating it (agitation might cause wool or other natural fibers to felt); saturate it with a spray bottle of water; pass a steam iron over it on full steam, but without actually touching the hot iron to the knit fabric; or steam it until moist with a garment steamer. Avoid using the steam iron or garment steamer methods on acrylic fibers, which could met beneath the heat.
- 2). Roll the dampened knit item in a towel, if necessary, to remove excess moisture. Don't wring, twist or squeeze the item or the towel it's wrapped in. Just lay the knitting out on the towel, roll it up, leave it for a minute or two, and unroll it.
- 3). Lay the knitted garment out on a blocking board. If you don't have a blocking board, you can create your own by covering a large piece of foam with sturdy fabric.
- 4). Pin the knitted fabric in the desired final shape, gently stretching -- if necessary -- as you go. If you're seaming pieces together, try to pin them together so you can both eyeball and measure to make sure the sides of the seams match. Depending on the fabric and type of yarn you'll end up using quite a few T-pins, spaced close together, to get straight, even edges.
- 5). Leave your knitting in place until it's completely dry. Depending on the yarn and how you moistened it, this may take a couple of days.
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