Blocking

Magic and Stitches

You just spent the past month or more knitting a shawl, but for some reason it doesn’t look like the one in the pattern photo. Are you wondering what you’ve done wrong? Absolutely nothing! Except for the blocking that is.

Blocking is the magic that turns all the hours you’ve spent knitting or crocheting, into something worth showing off. The stitches open as if by magic. K2togs and SSKs settle into their places. The yarn overs expand and bring air and light into hidden spaces. The ebb and flow of wavy edges becomes eye catching. Colors seem to pop. It may seem like a hat-trick but it’s not. You'll need the following: a bit of water yarn wash like Eucalan blocking matts or a guest room bed plus blocking wires/pins And some knowledge, of course.

That’s where I can help you make stitch magic happen! I’ll be teaching a clinic on blocking October 20th. I will reveal all my secrets so that the Christmas gifts you’ve feverishly been working on will look beautiful when you gift them. No more stories about projects piling up waiting to be blocked. I know a few ladies, whose names shall remain unspoken, who say they hate to block. Maybe the reason they feel that way is because they don’t realize the power, they must make magic!

Below is a sample of the same shawl. One blocked, the other one is not.


Remember…. Blocking is not a four-letter word! It’s MAGIC! 

Brenda Hedstrom