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Blocking?


Destiny

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Fellow yarn friends, the project from hell is continuing apace. I have the hang of cables. That said, this thing needs to be blocked. I have blocking wires. Does anyone have any good advice or links or words of wisdom to offer?

B70A1D0E-33A7-45E2-9389-2533DE6D94DF.jpeg

this is an older picture, but I’m roughly half done now. 

Yes. I play Diablo while I knit. Don’t judge meh!

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I don't know what the heck are talking about but good job on that knitting!!!  ???

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I didn't know we have a quiverfull of yarn. Yay.

I dampen my work, thread the wires through and pin to interlocking rubber blocking pads. The ones for mats for kids work great, you don't have to spend a lot. Your cables are great.

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55 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said:
I didn't know we have a quiverfull of yarn. Yay.

I dampen my work, thread the wires through and pin to interlocking rubber blocking pads. The ones for mats for kids work great, you don't have to spend a lot. Your cables are great.

How do you run the wires? Would I do it at the very outside of the work? Or like where the ribbing and cables meet? That’s a piece I am confused as heck about. I’ve done zero blocking.

That one spot where I messed up the sockinette? Stitch is haunting me by the way. I know most people won’t notice it, but it’s making me nuts. I realised the mistake wayyyy too late to try to correct it. 

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I think it depends on how you want it to look. I assume you don’t want the ribbing pulled flat but do you want the cables to stand out or lay flat? Here’s a YouTube video that explains it a bit.

 

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Given the other thread, at first glance I thought this was going to be a discussion about blocking other people on FJ. I need to stay off that "Is it mean..?" thread. @Destiny, your knitting looks amazing. :goldfish:

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Just now, ViolaSebastian said:

Given the other thread, at first glance I thought this was going to be a discussion about blocking other people on FJ. I need to stay off that "Is it mean..?" thread. @Destiny, your knitting looks amazing. :goldfish:

In my defence, I started this thread before that other mess blew up. LOL

Thank you! :)

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15 minutes ago, ViolaSebastian said:

Given the other thread, at first glance I thought this was going to be a discussion about blocking other people on FJ. I need to stay off that "Is it mean..?" thread. @Destiny, your knitting looks amazing. :goldfish:

SAME . . . And I was going to be like, "*welp* how would that even play out . . . Like, election style, Hunger Games, is there an appeal process??" Lol

. . . As for knitting, sorry I can't help!  But your knitting looks beautiful to me! :)

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I haven't really needed to block any of my knitting, so I've been interested in the tips on here. I have sometimes used a steam iron lightly on cotton dishcloths so that they looked nice for a charity sale. Most of my knitting has been acrylic or cotton. The wool hats and scarves I made didn't really need blocked.

If I ever get up the nerve and experience to make a sweater with the skeins of llama wool my in-laws gave me as a souvenir, I will be following every recommended step, including blocking. 

@Destiny, your finished piece looks great! Will you post a pic of it after blocking?

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1 minute ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

@Destiny, your finished piece looks great! Will you post a pic of it after blocking?

I'm sure I'll keep boring all y'all with pictures. It's about half done now, and then I have to start the matching hat. 

The beginning, where I casted on, is curling a bit. I'm also wondering if I made a mistake when I casted on using a knit cast on because my cast on is WAYYYY bigger than the subsequent rows.

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Just now, Destiny said:

...casted on using a knit cast on because my cast on is WAYYYY bigger than the subsequent rows.

That's interesting. I think I usually end up with my cast on row tighter than the subsequent rows when I use a knitted cast on. I guess everyone is different. 

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My cast on and the next few are looser than the rest. I’m hoping blocking can save it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Did you want the graduate thesis on blocking? I can give you more info than you've ever wanted! Always block! For most fibers, immersion in water is best, it gives you the most opportunities for the fibers to relax. Fold your knitted piece into a rectangle and submerge it in a sink or bowl of lukewarm water and a drop of dish soap.  Do not agitate it. Let it sit in the water for at least 20 minutes. Then drain the water and gentle press to excess water out without wringing. At this point, I roll my knitting in a towel and walk on it to remove the extra water.  Then, unfold it gently, without stretching, on a flat surface. You can now put in your blocking wires and pin the corners. You might want a yardstick to make sure your sides are straight. Let dry. Cables can stand some stretching, and lace demands it, but most things shouldn't be stretched.

Sis Snood, who actually is working on her Master of Handknitting certificate.

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12 minutes ago, Leftitinmysnood said:

Sis Snood, who actually is working on her Master of Handknitting certificate.

Oooh, that's very cool! 

I have a shawl that came out much smaller than planned, but I'm going to try and see if some aggressive blocking won't get it to a usable size once I can find my blocking mats. I've discovered that with shawls - with the exception of Find my Fade which turned out huge - I need to go up a needle size or two or they'll come out child-sized.

I know I should just do gauge swatches, but for shawls I just usually don't.

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17 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

Oooh, that's very cool! 

I have a shawl that came out much smaller than planned, but I'm going to try and see if some aggressive blocking won't get it to a usable size once I can find my blocking mats. I've discovered that with shawls - with the exception of Find my Fade which turned out huge - I need to go up a needle size or two or they'll come out child-sized.

I know I should just do gauge swatches, but for shawls I just usually don't.

I don't usually swatch for shawls either. Just know that with really aggressive blocking, things tend to shrink back to closer to their original size with time.

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