Thursday, July 27, 2006



Free and Easy Pie-Wedge Shawl
Finished this today after redoing the binding off. I thought I'd bound off loosely enough by just using the Suspended Bind Off, but that wasn't enough, so I increased my needle size by 2. The pattern is free (well, sort of) on the yarn label. The yarn is Lorna's Laces, Helen's Lace, hand dyed 50% silk and 50% wool which was wonderful to work with. It was very easy to do-6 pie shaped wedges done with short rows, with yarn overs and bind offs on the edge to create the points. The edge stitch had to be done loosely and that bind off too, had to be done loosely.

Blocking
1) I put luke warm water in my washing maching. Put the shawl in the water, pat it down, and let it sit for about 20 minutes to thoroughly absorb the water. DON'T AGITATE.
2) Spin the washer to remove excess water.
3) Lay out the shawl on a flat surface that you can push pins into. I put a flannel sheet on my living room carpet. Gently pat the shawl out to stretch about 1/3 larger. Pin into place or use blocking wires. Use a yard stick to be sure it is the same size on each side. Today I could not find my blocking wires, only remembering that when I put them away last time I hoped I'd remember where they were-well, I didn't! I spend a lot of time shaping the shawl and this one started to get dry so I used a spray bottle and wet it more. When my body can't stand moving around on the floor any more, I decide that is enough. As you can see from the picture it is not perfect, but when you wear it, it won't show unless there are major differences.
4) Allow to dry thoroughly at least 24 hours.
5) Un-pin and enjoy. The real beauty of lace does not show up until it is blocked.

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1 Comments:

At 7:51 AM, Blogger Partly Cloudy Knitter said...

You are so adventurous! And I'm so proud to be your enabler.
Hope we will see you next week.
Cathy

 

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