More About Blocking…

Blocking is a most important part of knitting. Or finishing. Or both, really. You can gain length or width. You can open up a scrunched up lace design, and you can “gently stretch to fit” a garment that isn’t behaving as expected.

Wools that need to be stretched generally respond best to wet blocking. This is how I would block a wool garment that needs to be “rearranged”. Mix in with hot, hot water, some Soak, Eucalan, or other Wool Wash. Gently immerse the item into the hot, hot water, and let it soak, squeezing gently every now and then to remove dirt, debris… When the water is lukewarm let it drain. Fill up the sink again with lukewarm water and gently squeeze the rest of the wool wash out and let drain again. Lift up the item and gently press it between towels to remove as much as the water as possible. Then lay it out, arranging it the way you want it. Pin and let dry.

You can also use steam blocking if your item doesn’t really need to be washed. To do this, lay out your piece, and then either put a wet towel on top of the item to be blocked and press with a hot iron (don’t move the iron over it, just up and down), or just use a hot iron without the wet towel, making sure not to touch the fabric, just letting the steam go through it. Rearrange it and let it dry.

Spritzing until damp and letting dry is another option.

My favorite? The first, since usually by the time I’m done knitting an item, it’s been sitting in the bottom of my knitting bag, taken road trips (or sometimes bike trips) and is generally just a bit dirty or dusty.

Knitty.com has a wonderful article about blocking that elaborates on the process including various types of fibers. You can read that here: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/FEATdiyknitter.html

Next Pattern:

Not too long ago I was seeing a crochet pattern for a glasses holder shaped like a bear all over the Internet. It was super cute, and also useful as a place to put your glasses on your bedside table instead of just throwing them somewhere random.

This project stewed in my brain for a little while and I decided I needed to make a knit version, but I didn’t want to make a bear. If you know anything about me you might know that I’m a cat person, so of course my version had to be a cat.

The base is just a basic little basic worked from the center out to the desired size, then up the sides as long as you want them. Knit some ears and add embellishments to make it whatever kind of animal you want.

The way I figured out to work the base from the center out was to use a crochet cast on, which gives you an easier way to pick up stitches from the back of the cast on than if you worked a more traditional cast on for a knitting project. It’s kind of fun to do things in a different way from time to time.

This little project is adorable if I do say so myself, and even as a plain little basket not made into an animal it’s a cute way to keep your glasses or other little things in one place. I’m tempted to make one for my desk to hold pens or even little little scissors and sewing needles that are always on my desk but somehow always seem to get lost on my desk.

If you need a little holder for your glasses on your table, check out the pattern at Our Daily Craft.

[Photo: Our Daily Craft]

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