sock blocking

[kareila]

Any tips for blocking socks? I just finished my first pair. :)

The yarn I used is 50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon.

My previous attempts at blocking things have consisted of getting them wet, pinning them, and letting them air dry. But pinning socks seems suboptimal...

Comments

[girlpearl]

I have a friend who used to wear hers in the shower and then keep them on her feet until dry... never tried it, though, so results not guaranteed ;)

[zats_clear]

I saw something about using shaped wire coathangers to dry them around...at least you could size it to YOUR foot!

[adair]

I don't usually bother to block socks, especially if they have as much acrylic as yours. Do you plan to machine-wash them? I'd be more concerned about that; I'd air-dry them after washing, but blocking to shape after completion never seemed necessary to me, especially for high acrylic content. Wearing the socks will shape them adequately.

[james]

I've never blocked socks. Wearing them and washing them normally takes care of any effect of blocking you'd want. Unless you want to take nice photos of it in which case I'd suggest a foot model.

[damned_colonial]

IAWTC.

[aunty_marion]

I've never bothered blocking socks, even 100% wool ones. And the 50% acrylic/10% nylon in your yarn means they won't block very well, anyway. Just wearing them will shape them to your feet, and as long as you don't wash them on 'hot', you can just dry them flat after washing (or 'flattish'!), and they'll be fine. The only reason I can see for blocking them at all would be if you wanted them as display models, in which case you'd want some sort of blocking form for them.

[pinesandmaples]

I block all my socks after each wash, because I like having them conform to my feet. (I suspect my wife does the same with her socks.) Basically, when they come out of the washer, I put them on and sit around for an hour or so. (Knitting time? Homework? Reading? Good things!) The first time I "block" a pair, I soak them in my soaking bowl until the pair is fully and completely soaked, then I press the socks between layers of a towel, then I put them on for a few hours.

All of my socks are made with yarn that is between 75% and 100% wool, though. I imagine the acrylic won't bother conforming to your feet, and they'll probably feel rather yuck.

[hobbitbabe]

I've made maybe 40 pairs of socks and I've never blocked them.

Mind you, if I started doing some lace patterns and found that they scrunched up on the needles, I might consider it. Especially if I wanted to enter them in a fair or something.

[aedifica]

I would take some other commenters' advice one step farther and actually recommend against blocking socks. I have a pair of wool socks I made, which I wore once while they were still wet because I was impatient and didn't wait for them to dry, and now the socks are felted on the bottom from me wearing them and walking around while they were still wet.

That said, I have seen sock forms at my LYS that would probably work to stretch and block the socks into a nice shape.