The Magic of Blocking

When you're creating fabric, whether you're weaving, crocheting or knitting, your project really isn't finished until it's wet finished, or blocked. Textiles magically transform into something new as soon as they hit the water and dry. How much they change depends on the fiber content, gauge, stitch/weave pattern, and more.

In knitting, the transformation is probably most noticeable when you're knitting with lace weight, wool yarn with a loose gauge (your needles are proportionally much bigger than the thickness of your yarn) and using an open and lacey stitch pattern. As you're knitting under these conditions your  fabric looks...well, sloppy. It doesn't matter how much knitting experience you have.