can anyone tell me if blocking is only done once or everytime the article is washed? can it be stretched a little after the 1st time its blocked? and also, i have a tray that fits in my clothes dryer which i can lay the article on to dry. the tray does not move but the air circulates around while the drum moves. can i use this in blocking?
thank you.
twn

Items should be stretched to shape every time they are washed. Steam pressing would work, laying flat and pulling gently into shape would be fine. Lace pieces should probably be stretched out and pinned to dry to look best. It sounds to me like your dryer rack would work, but to be safe I would use air dry only. Does this help?

yes, thank you for your reply. for the dryer, think i can add a little heat in the air or not?
also, i made this knitted tank top and i wanted to stretch it a little to make it a little longer but i've already blocked it once. can i do it again stretching it a little more? i don't think the first block made much of a difference.
twn

I would go along with Knitterb's suggestion to use no heat at all. It will take a bit longer to dry, but is safer.

Yes, you can stretch the top every time you wash it, but if you have already blocked it to the max you probably won't get any more length out of it. Yarn has just so much stretch: the more you pull it lengthwise, the narrower it will get crosswise.

Blocking can only do so much to change the dimensions of a piece. The real solution is to knit some extra length into it.

Also, do not use steam with acrylic or synthetics in general. It makes them limp.

Pam

well, this tank top turned out better than that MISTAKE sweater i did as a first project. this top is pretty but a little tight so i'll try and block it again. its made of berocco suede which is a nylon so i don't know how much it will stretch. i don't really need it to give too much but would prefer it to so its a little more comfortable. i'm going to try it in the dryer with no heat.
once again, THANK YOU all for your help.
twn