Archive of Thread: blocking - steaming Back

3 years ago
I have just been watching a replay session in which you talk about blocking and you mention using steam on acrylic. In the UK all the books and speakers I have heard say you should NEVER steam acrylic. Would love to hear your views here......

3 years ago
When I was first learning, knitters used blocking wires and steam, carefully.  They used a steamer, not an iron.
If you did use an iron, we were taught not to put the iron down on the knitting.

I'm sure it's a matter of what works for you.

Acrylic will melt.  Once it's "killed" with too much heat it won't come back.

On the other hand, killing acrylic can give it a a really nice drape for scarves and shawls.

Opinions from the Brain Trust?

3 years ago
I think we were told, long ago, never to steam high bulk acrylics, but I also think opinions changed.  The crucial thing is never to IRON, only to STEAM.  If you put any weight on the fabric it will go flat and dull and will never recover but it is generally quite safe to hold the iron (on the steam setting) above the fabric.  This sets the stitches and keeps the piece in shape.

Jenny
Wrexham, UK 

3 years ago
@Jenny M Benson
Am I correct that "high-bulk" acrylics are fuzzier than say an acrylic that has plys?  Maybe that's why steaming isn't good because it will flatten out the fuzziness.

3 years ago
My understanding is that high-bulk acrylic has been treated in a way that makes it "fuller", more like wool in look and feel.  3 strands of 2/32s industrial acrylic doesn't look the same as, for example, Yeoman Cashmilon although they would both knit to about the same gauge.  I'm not sure whether yarns like Cashmilon are actually made up of more than 1 ply, or whether they are a single ply that has been "fluffed up."

Jenny