My blocking tip

by Rosemary
(Oxford)

Measure the outside dimensions of the canvas design before you start sewing. This is the ultimate size and shape you want your work to be when blocking is complete. When the sewing is accomplished, spray the back of your stitching liberally with clean water and allow the damp to wok well in. While this is absorbing the wet, take a wooden board (I use an old drawing board) and draw an exact template, using a ruler or straight edge, of the dimensions of the outside edge of your design, on to the board, allowing a couple of inches of spare board all around the outside of your drawn rectangle or square. Now hammer steel pins into the board at regular intervals, about 2cm apart, straight along all four lines of the drawn template. Finally, hook your canvas over each pin all around the edges, making sure you have counted the holes evenly as you go.