Knitting

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How to Make Your Own Blocking Board

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How to make your own blocking board.Blocking knitting projects when they’re finished isn’t always essential, but sometimes it is (lace) and sometimes it just helps to make things look a little nicer or to get two pieces of knitting that ought to be the same size to actually be the same size (say, the front and back of a sweater).

I have a purchased blocking board, which is great, but it’s heavy, and they can be expensive.

This alternative from Jessica Joy is quick, easy and cheap to put together yourself with foam board and gingham, which is used not so much as a measuring tool but to allow you to line up edges on the straight lines of the fabric.

She notes in her tutorial that the foam board curled up at the edges because it doesn’t really like to be wet, but this is still a great in a pinch option for blocking, particularly if you need a really big space, because foam board is pretty inexpensive.

Have you ever made a DIY blocking board? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo via Jessica Joy.]

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  2. I bought the thick pink insulation foam board at HomeDepot/Lowes. Covered with gingham and stapled to the back of the boards. So that it wouldn’t be to big to fit under a bed, I did a kind of dovetail hinge where the two boards met so that the whole thing could be folded in half. Cheap, store-able and still working years later.

Have you read?

Knit a Little Scarf Full of Luxury

I guess the trend of little scarves and bandanas isn’t going away, and there’s a good reason for that. These little projects are fast, and they’re good for beginners because of the low commitment and they make something that doesn’t necessarily look like a beginner made it. 

And when you can combine a simple pattern with some super luxurious yarn, it’s a little treat that even more experienced knitters can get behind. 

The Little Dot Bandana from Purl Soho (designed by Gianna Mueller) is a project like that. It’s a simple eyelet triangle, worked from the long side down to the point, so there’s a lot of decreasing happening but it’s a really easy project. 

It calls for a hank of silk yarn and one that’s silk mohair, which gives the project a fuzziness and a little bit of a silky glow. 

Of course you can use different yarn to get a different look. A linen yarn would be fun for a summer kerchief, or combine wool and mohair for a warm and cozy kerchief for cold mornings. 

The pattern comes in two sizes, so you can stitch up a kerchief or a simple triangle shawl. The stitch multiple is 8 plus 23 stitches, so you can use that to make a triangle of any size you like, or you can use a heavier weight of yarn to make a different size if you prefer. The two strands held together as called for in the pattern makes a sport weight gauge, so you could try DK or worsted for a bigger and warmer project if you want. 

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho, or check out the pattern notes on Ravelry to find how other people made this project. 

And if you need more options for kerchiefs to knit, check out this collection of kerchief knitting patterns.

[Photo: Purl Soho]