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Lace Isn’t Done Until You Block It

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blocking laceLast week I went to a big blogging conference, and I decided that I wanted to be the person who was always wearing a hand knit scarf or shawl. I also happened to be knitting a little lace scarf, so I decided I would try to finish it in time to wear it at the conference.

Well, I got it done. On Wednesday night before leaving town Thursday morning. There wasn’t really time to block it, because it wouldn’t have time to dry thoroughly, but it did look pretty sad, as fresh off the needles lace usually does, so I gave it a quick bath, stretched it by hand and laid it out to dry as much as it could before I grabbed it and hit the road.

Honestly, as you can see above, it still looked pretty sad.

Now that I’m home again I can block it properly, and while I’m thinking on it I thought I’d direct you to my tips on blocking lace over at About, as well as my knitting buddy Eileen’s instructions for blocking a circular lace shawl, should be the type who knits such a thing.

Do you always block things that need to be blocked before you wear them, or are you a little more casual like me? I’d love to hear your thoughts. And I’ll be blocking that scarf for real soon, I promise!

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Comments

  1. I don’t knit, but I always block my crochet work unless it is made with nylon thread/cord. To each their own I suppose, but my work just isn’t finished until it’s blocked. I suspect that’s why I win a LOT of awards.

  2. Hi Sarah, I think you have to consider blocking a piece on a case by case basis. I’ve posted an article about blocking on my blog at: http://purl3agony.hubpages.com/hub/Knitting-Hints-A-Beginners-Simple-Guide-to-Blocking

    I make the (perhaps) controversial statement that not all knitted garments need to be blocked. I would agree that lace usually benefits from blocking, but sometimes you can lose the dimension of textured stitches with blocking (like some cables) and may be better off NOT blocking a knitted piece, or just blocking certain areas. You really need to think carefully about what is best for each piece and how you want your finished project to look!

Have you read?

Christmas Stocking Knitting Patterns for Your Pets

I’ve shared a lot of Christmas stocking knitting patterns over the years (see posts 1, 2, 3 for example) but what if you want to knit a stocking for a non-human member of your family. If you’re looking for Christmas stocking knitting patterns for your cats or dogs, this is the post for you.

These large paw print stockings are perfect for either dogs or cats, so they’re great to knit if you have both. They are worked in the round using DK weight yarn, and the stocking measures about 17 inches/43 cm from the top to the heel. You can get the pattern from nicolaluke.

The K4 Project has a super cute Kitty Christmas stocking pattern, which is worked in worsted weight yarn. They also have a dog version, or you can buy both and get a discount if you have both dogs and cats to knit for. Both projects have two patterns, showing how to work the stockings flat or in the round.

Put your dog into a Christmas scene with this stocking pattern from ifanhourChild. It shows a dog in a dog house in the snow, and has room for the dog’s name at the top. It’s worked flat using worsted weight yarn and the pattern includes charts for many small and medium dog breeds (there’s a separate listing for bigger dogs) so you can stitch a dog that looks like yours.

Annie’s Woolens has both dog and cat stocking knitting patterns that are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round. You can change up the colors to suit your pet if you want, and they come with an alphabet chart for personalization. Or you can stick with holiday colors and buy a kit to make the dog or cat stocking.

Waiting for Santa Paws is a pattern from Kate Agner on Ravelry that would be cute for a dog or a cat. It looks like a leg with a paw print on the bottom part of the foot and more paw prints running around the top of the leg. This is a great option if you don’t want to mess with a heel turn because it doesn’t have a heel, because dogs and cats don’t have heels so why would their stockings?

Book Review – 20 to Knit: Tiny Christmas Toys to Knit

Book Review – Knit Christmas Stockings

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