With the holiday knitting season in full swing, many people are faced with the problem of how best to block a hand-knit hat. As with so many aspects of knitting, there are almost as many opinions on the topic as there are knitters.
When you are planning out your final wash and block, there are two main considerations: Will you need to reshape the hat during blocking, and what's your climate like?
For most hats, you can simply lay them flat and pat them into shape. But if you are knitting a thick hat, and/or if you live in a damp climate, it can take a long time for a hat to dry this way. You will need to keep flipping it over, turning it inside out, and making sure that each side airs properly.
Sometimes, hat patterns can result in a hat which has an angular or peaked top. This will be fine once it's been worn for a while, but it can look a bit odd to non-knitters. In this case, you would probably want to do some shaping during the blocking process.
Lace hats also look better if they get a shaping block, to help open up the lace pattern so that it looks its best.
Otherwise, for shaping and drying, you have several options. You can buy a Styrofoam mannequin head for a few dollars online, but frankly I find that this level of blocking is unnecessary. Two of my favorite blocking methods for hats are:
1. Bowl on a pole. Find a bowl that is the same size as the crown of the head that's going to wear the hat, or a little bit smaller. Set this bowl atop something else, like an upside-down mason jar, because the hat will drape down below the edge of the bowl.
For extra credit, drape a thin tea towel over the bowl before fitting your hat on it. This will help it dry faster.
2. Roll up a bath towel until it's the right diameter. You may need to fold aside unnecessary thickness. Set the bath towel on its cylinder end, and fit the hat over the top of the towel roll. You can add a wad of crumpled tea towel at the top if you need extra roundness.
Image courtesy Flickr/Mr. T in DC
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