if you guys are anything like me blocking may seem like a strange and wondrous world.  having ever only blocked items like baby sweaters and hats/shawls doing a giant adult sweater seemed a tad on the scary side for me.  i'm a bit nervous...i'll admit it.  this sweater has taken me forever to finish and now that i have i really don't want to mess anything up.  so to help us wander through the world of blocking i turned to my knitting extraordinaire pal rebecca from the blog/shop "nook".  she's going to give us the rundown & the lowdown for blocking our precious new sweaters.


i've mentioned rebecca here just the other week when she guested on versus for her jardain coaster tutorial but i'll dare to repeat it again - this girl is the fastest knitter i have ever seen.  she can also simultaneously knit and.....type, cook, bake, chat on the phone and i suspect do anything whilst knitting.  she's a machine and i love her for it.  her spirit for knitting is super contagious and she always has the biggest grin on her face when she's doing what she loves.  
if you guys want to catch the knitting bug too and you live in victoria make sure you sign up for some of her classes at "the cloth castle" - this fall is about jane richmond.  you can learn how to make hats, sweaters, cowls...you name it...becca's got a class for it all using jane richmond's awesome, kick ass patterns!

now let's get those sweaters ready for a dip...here's rebecca....

thanks soo much shannon, for having me here! i have so enjoyed this KAL as i know we all have, and have learned much along the way. bonus... we've got ourselves a sweater for the fall and winter season! woohoo! no better way to kick off the knitting season with one of our own handmade lovelies wrapped around us :)  and with that being said...

hurrah!!!! you've done it! you've chosen your pattern, you've researched your yarn.. swatched and swatched again... and after hours and hours of knitting, ripping, knitting again.. it's done!!! but not quite...  this last step (or next to last step) is quite important, and i'm always surprised to find that many don't want to bother with it. or don't know what it is, or how to do it...

but blocking your knitting will make your life easier! trust me.

basically, what blocking does for your knitting is this.. it flattens your stitches, making your knitting even. it will help to hide any little blips in tension that you may have had, and will give your fabric drape. (depending on how it's knitted). basically, what blocking does for your knitting is what ironing does for your clothes. note... DO NOT IRON your knitting.. no no, i'm just making a comparison. it just smooths out the wrinkles, and gives your knitting a beautiful finished and completed work of art.


honestly, you worked so hard on your project, this last step is maybe a tiny bit time consuming, as you have to be patient for it to dry, but it's oh so worth it.
so now that i've convinced you to take that final step and block... here's what you need to know:)

one thing i'd like to mention is if your sweater is knitted in pieces, before joining the sleeves, sides, etc.. you should block your pieces beforehand. your edges will lay flatter, and joining your stitches, or picking up sitiches are much much easier to do.

• blocking pins (it's probably recommended to get a rust-proof kind, as then you won't be surprised with little rust marks after many uses with your pins... and you can get them at your local yarn store)
• towels (nice big ones)
• spray bottle (depending on the method of blocking you choose to do)
• blocking boards (also optional)
• measuring tape
• steam iron

ok you've got your tools, now what? well the fiber that you chose to knit with will determine the method you should block. why? because if you think about it, wool is sturdier and can handle a much stronger blocking, like a wet blocking, where as silk should never be wet blocked because it is so fragile when wet, and a spritz blocking would fare better...


so here's the dish. there are three basic ways to block wool garments:

1. wet-blocking. this is achieved by pretty much soaking your garment in water. i use either the sink or the bathtub, depending on how large the project is. in this case, sweaters... well in the tub it goes! to press the water out of the fabric, gently squeeze the sweater. do not wring it.. as wool is fragile when wet, and you can damage your hard work! i like to roll it gently in a towel, and then step on it. change towels and then do it again if needed. you can get a lot of moisture out that way! then you'll pin your sweater to the proper dimensions (why you needed your measuring tape) and let it dry. you can pin it to a blocking board, or like me.. i just use a towel on the carpet..  because you totally soaked your sweater, this method takes the longest to dry.. usually a couple of days. 
2. steam-blocking. what you'll do here is pin your garment out to the desired size and shape wrong side up, then grab a pillowcase that you've made damp. set that on top of your knitting. then using a hot iron, on a steam setting.. gently press down on the pillowcase, forcing steam out. continue to do so until your pillow case is dry.
3. spritz-blocking. this is best for fine-gauge wools. pin your beauty out to the desired dimensions, then using your spray bottle, spritz it until it's damp.. but not soaking.