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3D printing can be useful. From gadgets that can make life easier to keychains, including sunglasses and – to make it meta – filament accessories, sky’s pretty much the limit. That being the case, why shouldn’t 3D printing come in handy for a hobby or venture that includes crocheting?

And here’s where a crochet blocking board pops up, ready to help get those Granny Squares stretched out. Why is this necessary? Because if you’re going for a massive quilt or blanket to keep you warm in winter, you’ll want the Granny Squares to have straight edges, which’ll make it easier to line them up and connect them to each other.

How does it work? This blocking board includes holes that can block the squares by using the sticks. Why was it our Thing of the Week? Because not only does it block the squares, it’s also designed in such a way that it saves on filament and has a handy place to store the sticks when not in use. How so, you ask? Well, instead of a “normal” block, it prints in two parts: The “drawer” and the “lid”.

While I’m not the crochet expert at All3DP, the editor who is has shared her delight and shown evidence of its usefulness. Am I expecting a quilt in return for 3D printing this? Maybe.

Printing Tips

Image of: — The loose layers aren't ideal, but the model still gets the job done (Source: All3DP)

When it came to 3D printing the design, it took a bit of trial-and-error until we reached absolute success.

First things first, we went for Bambu Lab’s Dynamic PLA (it changes color depending on the temperature) because it was already in the printer, basically. We sliced in Bambu Studio with standard settings – 0.2-mm layer height, 15% infill – and printed on the P1P. We also had Creality’s K1 on standby, but the bed wasn’t big enough for the design, so you might want to keep this in mind; you might want to avoid scaling down the model. No supports were used, which can explain a few issues (see the image above). That said, functionality isn’t affected and the lid fits into the drawer in a sturdy way that allows for perfect use.

The real challenge came from the sticks. Between the warping and the too small first layers and layer adhesion issues and later a too tight fit, we ended up going for a 95% scale (only for the sticks) and a brim.

Who’s the Creator?

Maker Putte_1984 has only shared two models on Cults so far. The first is a crochet block, the second is the featured update. While there’s no information on how to support him – and there’s no indication of any new models that might be shared soon – you can always following him in Cults.