Borealis Yarns - Lace Blocking Tutorial.

You ask someone what to do and they airily say "oh just block it, it will be fine." Great. Now what? Before you get your dimensional lumber out and try to beat your project into submission, read through this for some pointers.

First off all, assuming your shawl is wool, you need to get it wet. The traditional way involves lots of labor, lots of water through out the house and on your clothes as you struggle to manipulate a large wet wool object.

Face it, I am lazy. I will not do lots of extra work unless it is necessary. Confronted with the 'necessity' of soaking, squeezing, laying out flat on towels, rolling the towels and then kneeling on a towel with a soggy woolen mass inside it, I went "Huh? Why would anyone do that?"

Use your washing machine. Yes, with caution, but use it. Fill the barrel with tepid water, (usually warm setting),and shove that shawl in. Submerge it and leave it to soak for 45 minutes. After the wool is fully wet, come back and find the setting that says 'spin' (usually on the delicate cycle). Keeping the lid open, let the washer drain. Once the water is gone from the barrel, distribute your shawl evenly around the outer edge of the barrel. Now shut the lid, and let it spin the water out for you. As soon as most water is gone out of the shawl, stop the machine and retrieve your shawl. You now have the same 'wadded up dishcloth', but now it's wet and ready for blocking.

Now it's time to get serious. While the shawl was getting wet, hopefully you gathered your materials: many t-pins and in the summer, (best time for lace knitting and blocking), a plaid table cloth or sheet from the thrift store. Spread out the tablecloth on the ground outside and have your pins handy.

Bring your wet shawl outside and line the top of the center neck along a straight line on the table cloth. Place pins through the shawl into the ground, stretching it as you go. initial pins being placed at center of the neck

initial pins being placed at center of the neck

Work by placing 2 or 3 pins on one side of center, then 2 or 3 pins on the other side. Smooth the shawl out as you go.

After you have placed approximately 6 inches of pins, it is time to pin the point temporarily. Stretch the point as hard as you can without popping pins, and anchor it with 3 or 4 pins.

initial pins at center neck, now pin the point

Return to pinning the top edge of the neck, alternating sides every few rows.As you approach the edges, you can see the pattern of the shawl start to emerge. The further from the center you pin, the more tension you can feel as you pin. continuing pinning neck edge

Eventually, usually about 6 inches from the outside edges, the tension will make it difficult to place pins on the straight line you have been pinning against. When this happens, reach down and release the temporary anchoring pins holding the point at the bottom edge of the shawl. Continue pinning the neck edge until you have reached both points.

You often get unlooked for help when pinning lace.

Once the entire neck edge is pinned, repin the point by stretching it down and pinning. Now pin mid way between the center point and the top edge.
pinning the scalloped edge

Continue in this fashion, halving the distances between pins until the one side edge is pinned out at about half the pin spacing you used at the neck edge as shown to the right.

Once you have placed half the pins needed on one side, move to the next side and place the pins in the same fashion; pinning halfway between neck and bottom edge, etc. Once both sides are pinned with half the amount needed, fill in all the spaces on the edge with yet more pins.

Now that your shawl is perfectly pinned, it's a good idea to cover it by flipping the extra fabric of your table cloth over it. This will protect it from the sun, passing birds, and your helpers. covering the finished shawl to protect

Once it is dry (usually 5-8 hours on a nice day), remove all the pins, and you're done.

If you have finished your shawl in inclement weather, you can pin it inside. Some people will pin it on a extra bed, or on carpet. I prefer to pin it on cardboard boxes that I have flattened and taped together. That way once the shawl is pinned out, I can pick the cardboard up and lean it against a wall to get it out of harm's way while it is drying.