Knitting Tutorials

There’s a more thorough tutorial later on in this Knitting Tutorials app, but the gist of blocking knits is this: To block any item, get it wet, wash the fibers and then lay it out on a flat surface. You could use an ironing board, a bed, blocking mats or something else. Then gently shape your project to be the dimensions you want. Let it dry, and the item will hold the shape you set.

For some casual garments, like a one-piece sweater that is meant to be a wear-around-the-house type of item, perhaps blocking isn’t essential. But most Knitting Tutorials will benefit from the shaping that blocking provides.

Always wanted to learn how to knit? Welcome to Knitting Tutorials, your beginner's guide to knitting. Follow our complete series of knitting fundamentals, with step-by-step tutorials for each knitting stitch and technique. We also demystify the language and abbreviations in knitting patterns and interview a professional knitter (and resident Tuts+ knitting instructor). Before long, you'll be purling up a storm. So pick up those needles and rolling on but most of all, have fun!

Sometimes it doesn’t matter if the increase is visible. For instance, some sweaters have you work the increase near the edge of the work, so the increase will be buried under your arm or in a seam. No one is going to see that increase unless you decide to point it out!

To finish a knitting project you want to be relatively square, measure your dimensions as you lay out your project. If you aren’t having success, the likeliest problem is that your project isn’t wet enough.

Learning how to knit the basic knitting stitches starts with learning the knit stitch. This one stitch is the magical stitch that makes all other stitches possible. Ever had a sweater, store-bought or handmade, that just loses its shape? The sleeves are hanging at different lengths, and hems that used to hit at the hips now hang like a crop top. What can you do? You have to reshape it. That’s what blocking is for.

Whether you’re well-versed in knitting techniques or just finishing your first project, this tutorial of Knitting Tutorials will offer a step-by-step guide for how to block in knitting that will be useful to everyone.