Monday, October 11, 2021

Wheatsheaves: Blocking Work-in-Progress

Thanks to some audiobook listening (Andrea Penrose's "Wrexford and Sloane" mystery series), I'm almost ready to make the transition from the body (boring) to the lower lace border (exciting!). But ... I've worked with Eco+ so often that I know it will likely grow in length after blocking. I want the finished length of my cardigan to be 20". The instructions remind me to begin the border 3 1/2 inches before the desired finished length. That means I need to start the border when my sweater measures 16 1/2 inches from the top of the shoulder at the neck. REMINDER: because of the shoulder slope, make sure to measure just next to the neck and straight down. I actually stopped knitting when the body measured 16 1/4 inches, anticipating some growth. It's always better if you don't have to rip back and steam the crinkles out of the knitted yarn before proceeding. 

Here's the work soaking on my kitchen counter on a gloriously warm and sunny Thanksgiving afternoon. Is there a better time of year when the weather is nice?

The stitches are all on a length of waste yarn with the ball attached (but outside the tub so as to remain dry).

And here's the same chunk of knitting blocking on a towel. The width is 24" as set out in the schematic,


but the length is currently 17". I predict the length measurement will reduce to around 16 1/2 inches. Guess we'll know around this time tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Happy Thanksgiving for all you Canadian readers.