tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266567118883929595.post4443337641865855921..comments2015-09-16T17:23:10.603-07:00Comments on The Owl and The Bee: Delancey Knit Alonglilith annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17459590653427199163noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266567118883929595.post-33561426944554578642012-02-11T08:39:21.809-08:002012-02-11T08:39:21.809-08:00Blocking is essentially soaking a knit project/gar...Blocking is essentially soaking a knit project/garment in warm water (usually with some no rinse soak, I use this stuff: http://www.eucalan.com/ although there are lots of good wool washes out there)pressing the water out (lots of towels) and setting it out to try. It smooths the stitches out and makes the piece look much more polished. This really works best on natural fibers. Sometimes the blocking process can sometimes soften the knit piece so that it's not so stiff. In addition say your knit piece is slightly smaller in an area then you would like, you can pin or stretch your wet fabric so that it is the dimension you'd like. Obviously there are limitations to this, you can only block so far. But that's what we mean when we say block it aggressively out. I'd rather take a slightly knit smaller sweater and try to stretch it a little to fit me, than to have a large sweater. Things also "grow" or spread out when they are blocked (especially lace patterns!) so that is something to keep in mind when knitting things. There are lots of tutorials and explanations on blocking out there this is one of my favorite simple how tos: http://www.myzigzagstitch.com/2010/04/26/how-to-do-it-blocking-wool/lilith annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17459590653427199163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7266567118883929595.post-3964376985520586702012-02-10T19:53:11.926-08:002012-02-10T19:53:11.926-08:00Educate me, Oh Wise One: what exactly is blocking?...Educate me, Oh Wise One: what exactly is blocking? I know, I should totally know this by now. From the context of the paragraph and from what I've seen in Allyson's posts, it seems to be laying flat - but is there stretching involved? Otherwise how would you get a too-small item to fit correctly?Ashleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08627268071742316688noreply@blogger.com