Hallie writes: <<I always pre wash and weight the yarn, while it drys, befote using it. I have had very little shrinag. >>
To block or not to block, the perennially controversial question :) Blocking stretches yarns somewhat. But it's a temporary stretch. As soon as the fiber, especially wool due to its crimp, is exposed to water, or even a humid day, it will relax back into its unstretched size. This is more obvious, the crimpier the fiber. Finewools and down-breed wools in particular. More silky and less crimpy wools, like BL and Romney, the effect is less obvious. In the case of the blanket, it was just more crisp than I realized as I worked with it, and so, even though the yarn wasn't blocked and therefore artificially stretched when it dried, it still shrank more than expected. I mostly work with silkier wools when spinning yarns for weaving, and forgot to allow for that much shrinkage. As always, lessons learned in this way stick with me, so all is not lost, and I've ordered 12 pounds of lovely Perendale for the next blanket! :) Holly
