This Blocking Controversy

 

Its crazy but the knitting community has gone through serious infighting over the last few years, sometimes over very serious matters such as racism and inclusivity. I don't feel that any of these matters have been resolved or improved at all, but I could be wrong. This week the issue has been one of less gravity, but still important to me because its has been an issue in my knitting skills for a long time.

Blocking.

For the non-knitters, blocking is the process in which you lay out and shape your finished garment, ensuring the colorwork or fabric texture is shown to its greatest advantage. A few days ago a well-known knitting pattern designer tweeted a short rant: Your project is not finished til it's blocked properly. Don't show your unblocked lace and say you're packing it up as a gift. 

The knitters in Twitter did not recieve this "knitsplaining" very well, and I admit it annoyed me as well. Not only did I not follow this woman (thank you hashtags) but have long been irritated by the handful of designers that take to Twitter to rant about their customers. Her vagebook-style message thrown blindly in the twitterverse landed on hundreds of knitters who do not deserve her criticism. To be fair, she did apologize, but not without the usual wishy washy poor-me messages about how cruel people were to her. 

From the start of my knitting journey up to just a few years ago, blocking was mystifying and frustrating to me. Google searches gave me numerous different answers on how to block my sweaters and lace. Attempts at each one of them gave me varying results. And I really wasn't interested in buying wires, mats and pins to add to my collection of supplies that I truck around the world. I resorted to pinning my sweaters, on top of a towel, on my husband's side of the mattress while he was away on business trips!

Later I discovered the top of my hope chest provided almost enough room and firmness to pin and shape one item at a time, and I've stuck with that method since. If I exemplify the majority of knitters, it means that figuring out how to soak and block is a confusing and difficult process in learning this craft. Criticism IS NOT appreciated, even if you have it all figured out.

For the record, I soak my finished item in a steel bowl filled with tepid water for at least 20 hours. Removing it carefully, I roll the item into a big beach towel to remove moisture, then take a fresh towel to cover my blocking pad (see above). Then, I carefully shape my knit on top of that and pin it at the desired shape, leaving it there until its dry. 

And I don't care what R says about when to show your creation- Its done when you think its done!