TILT: Blocking
Thing I Love Today: the magic of blocking!
The baby blanket is done. I’ll have better pictures by Friday, but I thought a walk through my blocking process might be interesting.
I use these foam mats I bought at the hardware store to block everything. They were cheap and they do the job. The only problem is that they have some kind of magnetic attraction for one of my cats, so after two years they all look pretty much like this:
All four mats, with guilty cat for scale
Here’s the blanket as it came off the needles: crumpled and narrow. This pattern (my own) includes quite a bit of 1×1 ribbing, so this was to be expected.
Size before blocking: 22" by 32"
Then I measured carefully and spent waaay too much time using every pin I own to stretch it to size.
Kitty inspecting my work. She doesn't look impressed, does she?
I got a nifty new steam iron a few weeks ago. It does vertical steaming as well as horizontal, which is awesome for quick sweater touchups before photoshoots.
Steaming/spraying in progress:
And here’s the finished blanket drying. See how well the pattern opened up?
Non-iPhone pics coming soon!
That lace pattern is gorgeous and I really love the color you chose for it. Posts like these make my wonder why some people are so against blocking. It’s definitely worth the time and effort.
My cat loves my blocking mats too! The last time I used them I went in the spare bedroom to check the scarf I was blocking and was horrified to see the cat had picked at its edges, popping out some of the pins.
Your blocking mats are great! The steam drying worked a treat too – doesn’t the lace open up beautifully? : )
That’s a gorgeous pattern & I love the purple. It’s a nice rich color.