Blocking, while not a panacea for every knitting problem, can solve a lot of them. Once soaked (actually washed on gentle cycle in my washing machine), the fabric relaxed a good deal and I was able to pin it out and tame some of the unruly curvaceousness of this blanket. As you can see towards the top of the picture, some parts of the feather and fan still have a ruched look, but I am imaging that the baby will not notice these things.