When handwashing:
use a mild shampoo without a lot of perfumes and conditioners in them, such as a
baby shampoo, for example. Use plenty of warm water to rinse the yarn out.
What blocking will do:
Unblocked lace has been described as looking like panty hose just out of the
package - nothing like its eventual shape and size. Blocking will cause the
stitches to first stretch and then relax against each other, smoothing the
appearance of the knitting and averaging out the size of the stitches. It is
almost essential to block lace to make it look like it's really lace.
Depending on the stitch pattern used, the piece may become Much bigger
when blocked. So if it looks like the piece is too small, but you really did get
the gauge, and you really did knit the full number of rows, try blocking before
you panic.
What blocking won't do:
Blocking won't fix major errors in sizing or gauge. It won't fill
holes. It won't have any effect at all on acrylic and suchlike yarns, and
not a lot of effect on cottons or silk. It won't make something that is too
big smaller. It won't fix a really crooked seam or a warped shape.
How to Block:
Wash the lace piece, if you haven't already, or soak it in cold water,
squish most of the water out, roll in a towel and squish more until it's no
longer dripping wet. While the garment is still wet pin it out to a large thing
that can be pinned to and left alone for a day or two. Examples are: the
bedspread or the carpet in a guest bedroom, a large heavy piece of cardboard
such as seamstresses use for a cutting board, or a piece of cloth stretched
tight on a wooden or pvc frame. Use t-pins or long silk pins. You can buy t-pins
in sewing supply stores. Some knitting supply companies sell blocking wires,
which are wires of varying thickness and lengths. You run these through the
edges of a garment and only pin it in a few places. The wires even out the
stretch and simplify the pinning, but aren't really necessary for someone
beginning in lace.
Start by pinning out the main body of the shawl. If it's a rectangle or a square, and you know how long it will be, use a measuring tape or yardstick to help you pin the corners out to the right length and right angles. Then pin at intervals along the edge. If it's a circle, pin the center first, then straight up, and straight across, like cross-hairs, then on the diagonal, then divide the diagonals. Some motifs may need to be stretched more than others in the same shawl. It may take a fair amount of pinning an unpinning and repinning. If the piece dries out while you are still working with it, a plant mister can be used.
When you are satisfied with the body, pin the edges. Individual points or curves should be pulled out to a satisfying appearance, and none should be noticeably more stretched than the others. You do not have to be excruciatingly exact, however, since when it is dried and unpinned, the piece will “settle” a bit more and tend to even out.
Weak places or dropped stitches
While you are pinning out the piece, be on the lookout for weak spots or
strained places in the knitting. Help these out by taking some of the strain off
with pins, and if necessary by a little discreet needlework with a bit of the
original yarn. This is the best solution to finding a dropped stitch or yarn
over, which is usually due to splitting a stitch which later broke. Pull the
stitch up to where it belongs, or where it disappears into the pattern with a
suitable sized crochet hook and take a quick stitch with the yarn on a yarn
needle to hold it in place, then work in the ends of the yarn.
General appearance
For the last step, stand back and look at it and see if it looks pretty
generally even. If someting looks stretched too tight, release it a little, if
too loose, tighten it up. Then go away and leave it alone for a couple of days.
Have a cup of coffee, relax, read a book.... Two or three days later, come back
to it, pull the pins out, give it a good shake, and admire it.
| copyright cjwyche, 2000-2006 These patterns and documents are essentially learning tools and I favor free access to knowledge on the internet, I have placed them on this web page under Copyleft|GNU Free Documentation License (version 1.2 or any later version). This means you have permission to freely download, ocpy and use content from this web site under the same License. Any creative changes you make to this source material cannot be copyrighted, but must also be freely distributed under the License. |
Modified: 2006-02-03
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