Blocking Like A Proper Knitter

Posted on by

Recently, I read the Yarn Harlot‘s recent post on blocking the pieces before she finishes making up a sweater, and I have to admit, it gave me pause.

I started out knitting as somewhat of  a lazy knitter. I originally learned to knit from my Nanna, who didn’t spend time on things such as gauge swatches. I imagine that was because she mainly made the same things and had been making them long enough that she didn’t need one anymore, but she never taught me to do one. When I picked up knitting again on my own, I mostly wanted to play around and make things. I’m a bit impatient, and I tend to want to get to the finished product as quickly as possible.

But as I keep knitting, and begin to see the things I’ve made as crucial elements of my wardrobe, I find that I’m slowly beginning to take more of the steps in proper knitting seriously. Which explains this:

Blocking Mrs. Darcy in Pieces

Yes, that’s a sweater body blocking away in my living room, pre-making up. As I pinned this out, a couple of things occurred to me.

1. I need more blocking mats. I have a set from Knitpicks, and they’re fantastic, but there isn’t quite enough space for a full sweater. I can block out a small shawl okay, but a large  one would be right out. It tends to take things a few days to dry here, so I can’t really block on my bed, either.

2. Cats are seriously compelled towards blocking knits. I don’t know why, but it’s ridiculous. I shoo them off, so they’ve learned to only go sleep there when I can’t see. I find the telltale fur and paw-wrinkles later. Someday, I’m gonna find one of the cats with a pin stuck in them from getting too cozy with a blocking sweater.

3. This had better be as miraculous and awesome as people make it seem. I want to be able to sew this up!

  • http://twitter.com/booksNyarn Kristi C.

    I have a love/hate relationship with blocking. Hate to do it, love the results. My niblet's sweater and my last scarf were blocked, and it really does make the pieces lay better, especially for sewing.

    I have a large blocking board from WEBS (which still has limits, as my 10 ft. scarf will attest to) and it only folds in half, but I like the inch grid and bias lines it includes.

    And yes, my cats gravitate to it also…

  • Brenda

    Don't worry, the results are good. :) Maybe even worth it.

    I don't have mats… I always pin things onto the comforter, or a towel over the comforter on either the bed or sofa. Works well enough, and the cat wouldn't be able to get it.

    • http://www.quirkyknitgirl.com/ Ivy

      In my experience, unless I'm doing lace, it takes anywhere from 2-7 days for things to dry out completely in my apartment. Unfortunately, I can't give up the couch or bed for that long. And definitely wouldn't stop the cats…since they sleep on both of those. :)

      • Brenda

        That's… very unusual.

        You get the excess water out before shaping and pinning things to block, right? Rolling them in a towel or whatever…

        • http://www.quirkyknitgirl.com/ Ivy

          Yep, I roll them up and then stomp on the towels. It may just be my
          apartment; I hang a lot of my clothes to dry and they usually take several
          days as well; I also have a number of thicker sweaters–those are the ones
          that take the longest. This took…two days, I think?

      • Brenda

        Oh, and if you shut the bedroom door they won't get to it! They may not be happy, but they'll survive an afternoon without your bed. It is your apartment after all. ;)

        • http://www.quirkyknitgirl.com/ Ivy

          Well, if it only took an afternoon! Unfortunately, I won't survive a few
          days without my bed…and the doors in this apartment are not super
          reliable. It's why I always seem to find a furry helper when I shower. Silly
          cats.