blocking is magic | PDXKnitterati

As I said in the previous post, yarn still surprises me.

This is where I left you in the last post. The further I knit, the more the ribbing biased. I think it’s because this yarn is a single ply, rather than a plied yarn. It wanted to lean hard to the right. I didn’t have another project going, so I soldiered on, figuring it would block out…or not. A science experiment!

Fresh off the needles. Quite a lean, and also a loose column at the beginning of the round.

The front was quite askew, and the the leaf pattern was wonky at the bottom, too. Place your bets!

Blocking is magic. This project is essentially a big swatch. It’s longer than I want it to be, but it’s the right general idea. I did some math, and I’ll knit another one. Remember, as a designer I make the mistakes so you don’t have to!

I’ve been knitting outdoors all week; the weather has been spectacular. Not too hot.

The hydrangea is coming into glory; it’s going to be a big year for these blooms.

I’ve been reading while I knit; it keeps me on task. I highly recommend Things Past Telling by Sheila Williams (I also read her Dancing on the Edge of the Roof which was good, but not as good as Things Past Telling). I also read The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl; her descriptions of food are incredible. I just finished First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston…so twisty! I enjoyed all of these. Now I’m starting Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. Our library system uses Libby, and I read all these as e-books on my kindle.

What are you reading? What are you knitting?

I’ve been designing and knitting a lot of bandana cowls lately. This is a great shape to wear; it pops on over your head, and stays put. I love wearing these when I’m teaching; they don’t fall off when I lean over to look at a student’s knitting. But how do you block this shape?

You could block it this way, but it will leave creases at the back neck and front.

Cosette, gentle blocking (not a hard stretch)

Using tubes of some sort, or rolled up washcloths, will keep you from getting creases as your cowl dries. This tall neck could probably have used a separate set of tubes for the cowl portion, separate from the triangle.

It turned out fine, though!

I upped my blocking game for my Starfall assigned pooling cowl, because it needed a more assertive blocking to set the stars and open up the lace border. Here’s the whole process.

Soak cowl in cool water with a bit of no-rinse wool wash for 20 minutes. Gently squeeze out excess water (do not wring). Roll up cowl in a folded towel and walk on it (!) to remove more water.

Block cowl to desired dimensions, pinning out scalloped lower edge. I also put wires along the neck edge to maintain a straight edge. It’s easiest if you lay it out with the triangle face down and the back of the cowl on top so you can pin out the scalloped edging of both the front and back at the same time.

Place tubes into the sides to avoid creases; I use the tubes my blocking wires came in. For this particular cowl, the center spine is the center front. The end of the bind off is the center back (it’s the arch of the scallop, not the point).

See how laying the cowl down with the back side up allows me to pin both the front and back scallops?

I usually flip my cowl over the next day to speed up drying; you can pin out the scallops on the just the front because the back will be dry already. Let dry completely. Sew in ends.

Have you blocked a bandana cowl before? Would you do it this way? I really like it!