(no subject)

[tree_and_leaf]

Hi, I'm new(ish) to the community, and also fairly new to knitting. I've just got into knitting lace, which I love, but I'm having problems with the blocking. I've been improvising using a yoga mat, but I tried to block Traveling Woman (a lace shawl) recently, and the pointy edges didn't come out right at all - the mat's not solid enough, so it kept warping out of shape. The shawl looks OK, but it could look so much better.

Does anyone have any suggestions on better methods/ equipment, preferably from UK suppliers? I'm on a tight budget, but I'm willing to spend a bit, given that I really enjoy knitting and my cheapskate solution wasn't much of a solution *g*

I'd be very grateful for any hints, tips, or suggestions.

Comments

[medrin]

When I block something big I use my bed. I just remove all the bedding and stuff and pin it directly on the mattress. Nice big surface. If it's something like a scarf I have a sofa that I use (less work to clear it).

Important to note: Start blocking early in the day so it's dry when it's time for bed, and be careful about picking up all the needles.

[aviekokyre]

My knitting group was talking about this just the other day. They were suggesting the floor mats used to keep people's feet from hurting when they have to stand a lot or the floor mats that are in the shape of puzzle pieces sold for babies. I have yet to try blocking, but they have shown some beautiful, fully blocked lacework. I trust their tips on this.

If you look around, you can find probably find something like that for a decent price.

[pinesandmaples]

Option one: If you have carpet, put down a towel and use straight pins to pin directly to your floor. Or block on your bed like the Yarn Harlot recommends. (I recommend vacuuming the carpet first, but even that is merely a recommendation.)

Option two: Start steam-blocking everything.

[inchainz]

If you have carpet, put down a towel and use straight pins to pin directly to your floor.

I second this. I blocked for years using only my carpet, a towel & pins & everything turned out great.

I was always afraid my bed would still be wet that night if I tried using it! :)

[sporky_rat]

I second the bed option as long as you remove as much of the water before hand and keep a fan going to help dry the bed.

The carpet would work well if you spread out a large blanket first, I suppose.

[sedge]

If pins and carpet or pins and bed don't work for some reason (they're my preferred methods, too), I've made a frame out of long boards and clamps, stretched a sheet over it, and then blocked by pinning to that. Advantages: you can do it outside or prop it up vertically to save floor space.

For any blocking that involves stretching out and pinning, you can speed up the drying process by pointing a fan at it.

[jackandahat]

I use kiddie play mats. I got mine from Tesco last year, £7.50 for a pack of 4 that are 60x60cm. So I can do 120cm square, or a 60x240 rectangle for scarves. (I wish I'd got another pack but could only carry one and by the time I went back, they'd sold out - it was the end of summer.)

They're relatively cheap, pretty sturdy, and because they are pieces rather than all one big thing they're easier to store.

[jumpuphigh]

I've blocked on my dining room table on multiple layers of beach towels. They are thick and absorbent and the bottom layer never even got damp so my table was safe from water damage.

[eruanna]

I've only done one lace shawl so far, but also used the 'towels over carpet' method, and it worked well. It didn't take long to dry (maybe half a day).

[astro_noms]

Towels + carpet blocker over here, too (well, mostly without the towels, even, because I use the attic to do my blocking and I wring things out enough that I don't have to worry about soaking the carpet or anything.. But I second the kiddie play mats, I used to have those when I lived in Canada, but alas, they got left behind in the overseas move.

[tree_and_leaf]

Thank you!

[tree_and_leaf]

Awesome, a number of people have mentioned puzzle blocks, so I shall look into that.

[tree_and_leaf]

Gosh, does that work? I shall have to give it ago.

[tree_and_leaf]

Yes, I'd be a bit worried about that too :)

[tree_and_leaf]

Thanks! Don't have a fan, alas.

[tree_and_leaf]

Oh, that's an interesting idea...

[tree_and_leaf]

Ah, I'll have a look out for them.

[tree_and_leaf]

Thanks!

[tree_and_leaf]

Thanks, that's good to know.

[sedge]

I originally got the boards and clamps to make a full-size quilt frame, so they serve multiple purposes. :)

[tree_and_leaf]

Thanks - if I can find the blocks I'll use those, and if not, I'll use the towel and carpet method.

[aunty_marion]

I have the same sort of mats - they're about 5/8" thick, and like Jack's, mine are two feet square. I got a pack of 4, in blue, for a bit more than his (I think they were about £12?) a few years ago, from a large toy shop on a retail estate (not Toys'R'Us, but they might have them). A yoga mat is too flexible, alas, while these are pretty rigid. I use the glass-headed pins - not the very long ones, I have a box of the smaller 1" ones - which can just be stabbed straight into the mat through whatever you're blocking. I lay them out on my bed (which is my largest flat surface, being a 4' one!), but then I can lift them off and stand them vertically against a wall at night. For small things that I want to dry faster, I put an old pillowcase or double thickness of sheeting fabric down on a mat and pin them over that. So far I've only really had one thing that was really too big for them (Traveling Woman! But I had done 10 lace repeats...). You can see three of them in an L-shape being used to block my Wingspan here.

[tree_and_leaf]

Ah, that's very useful information, thank you! Wingspan looks great, btw.

[evilawyer]

Here in the US they have these dining table protector covers. They're rigid but you can get pins through them.