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

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

Have you read?