Guys and needles

Very interesting article from reporter Jennifer Levitz in the WSJ about men learning sewing and knitting hobbies. Doesn’t quite seem that any stereotype has been dismantled however, more like a little fraying around the edges, but it’s a positive development.

Idle Pastime: In Off Hours, Truckers Pick Up Stitching

Thanks to Barb for alerting me to this article!

Blocking – the kid perspective

Probably excessive amounts of soaking, otherwise fairly on target!

Ode to blocking

I recently completed the vintagey looking chanson et crochet capelet pattern. Originally published in Wrap Style , it’s now available as a free pattern here.

Once the crochet part is completed, the challenge for this lace garment is in the finishing stage.

Up to this point, I always wet-blocked, giving each item a thorough soak, then pinning out the sogggy wet mass to the correct dimensions and leaving it to dry.

However there are a couple of drawbacks to this method. First off, a thoroughly wet  wool piece doesn’t exactly dry instantaneously. This is OK for a small granny square, but for anything approaching garment size, the drying period necessitates that a non-trivial amount of flat space be commandeered and declared off-limits to the other inhabitants. The available domestic space for such an operation is limited. This has led to complaints from the ever restless populace “Mummy’s taken over the whole floor and I can’t step anywhere!”, or “Why can’t we have dinner on the dining room table?” In the summer, I can take such a project outside but the winters can be pretty cold in upstate NY.

The second problem with the “soak and lay flat” method is that this piece is not flat. It’s shaped essentially with two different angles; starting at the neckline, increasing dramatically to reach the shoulders and then falling pretty much straight down, cape style, allowing for plenty of ease over the arms and body. If I pinned out the entire piece flat so that the bottom lace portion was stretched out to the full extent that it needs to be blocked, the neckline would gape.

After puzzling my dilemma for a while, it suddenly hit me. I would take a technique from sewing and use my new clapper to block out the lacy drapey portion of the cape.

Here is the clapper, acquired from the Sew Green “Rescued for Reuse” store.

Here are some additional tools I used. I used pins when I needed a third hand, my iron and ironing board.

Basically I laid a small area of the cape over the ironing board, gave it a good blast of steam over a small area from the iron held a little distance over the fabric. I immediately pressed down on the steamed area with the clapper which was held firmly until the area was cold and flat. The entire procedure was then repeated with an adjacent area and soon I had a beautifully blocked cape.

Blocking is not optional!

In case you’re not sure that blocking is a necessity, just look at these before and after blocking pics.

Before blocking, the piece has all it’s essential character, the pattern is perfectly executed, but it’s something only it’s mother creator could love.

After blocking, it better reflects the designer’s vision with a polished sheen that’s ready for public wear.