Knitters' help please - finished knitting a blanket, now what?

[Rocinante]

It's taken me months but I've finally finished knitting a somewhat bigger than intended baby blanket. It's made from Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran which is a merino wool/microfibre/cashmere mix.

I'm just sewing in the ends, then I intend to sew a cloth back onto it - do I need to wash it first, in case it shrinks?

And I remember reading somewhere that you should wash it with vinegar the first time, to set the colours - is that right?

Any tips gratefully received!

You need to block it. This is how I do it:

Fill a basin with warm water (NOT hot) and a little squirt of baby shampoo/mild soap/wool detergent.
Put blanket in and gently smoosh about. At this stage I usually leave it for about 10 mins.
Empty the basin and rinse blanket in plain water. It is important not to stretch, rub or wring the blanket as it may felt.

Gently squeeze out water. Lay blanket between two towels, roll up, walk along towel to squeeze out moisture.

Unroll towel, pull blanket about until it is the right size and shape and leave laid on towel until dry.

It will be lovely and squishy with better stitch definition.

I have never used vinegar before so can't comment on that.

The yarn you have used is lovely BTW.

Sometimes reds in particular can lose a bit of dye, and yes a sploosh of vinegar in the rinse will stop that happening.

There you go. Learn something new every day!

Thank you very much - I shall have a go at blocking it like you say and add in the vinegar as it does have a dark red in it.