Hello! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Well I have been knitting away, and I finished my Monkey socks, Mom’s Touchable Caridgan, and Mooki. So yup, I have made some progress.
I have a quick question though; I just got some lace yarn for Christmas, and got size 3 circs from Knit Picks yesterday, and wanted to knit the Icarus Shawl after I finish 1 or 2 more projects. I knit the gauge swatch, and this is what confuzzles me; the pattern says “21 stitches and 38 rows = 4″ (10cm) in stockinette stitch, after blocking”. The “after blocking” part has me stumped. First of all, I’ve never blocked anything before, so that could be a problem. Second, how do I know how to block this gauge square? I mean, do I stretch it out until it matches the gauge, or what? I don’t get this after blocking thing. Lol. If anyone could help me, I’d really appreciate it!
Honestly, gauge is not important in lace knitting, unless you really want the finished piece to be a certain size.
You’d be better served if you swatch the lace pattern with the needles you want, and see if you like the result.
And you should block that swatch for the full effect. Blocking is not hard. You soak the swatch (or finished shawl) in warm water (or whatever the care label says for the yarn), and a little soap. Soak it a while to make sure the fiber is saturated. Then squeeze out some water — it shouldn’t be dripping wet. I usually roll it in a towel a little.
Now comes the fun part. Spread it out on something soft, like a spare bed, or a carpeted floor, something that you can put pins into. Then stretch it out, and pin it. Be aggressive with it, your goal is to reveal the lace pattern. Pin and stretch, then leave it to dry.
I use T-pins that I think are for quilting, but you can use anything that doesn’t rust and that you can find easily.
When it’s dry, un-pin it and decide if it’s what you want. For a finished shawl, it’s the same concept, only it will take a lot more space.
And before you even start, make sure that your yarn is an all natural fiber. Acrylic and other man-made fiber does not block — it will revert back to its shape before blocking.
There’s a lot of stuff on the ‘net about blocking. I think Franklin Habit describes it really well somewhere in his blog: http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/
Or check Ravelry, or Knitter’s Review.
Have fun!
By: shb1 on January 29, 2009
at 1:36 pm