Before and After Complete

As you may remember I received a special yarn for Xmas from Yarnia and decided to make myself a scarf. Click here for more detail about the type of yarn and the pattern, if you like. (You have to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page to get to this gift.)

This scarf is knit using a stockinette stitch which means it will not hold its shape without some severe blocking. The pattern explains one should use blocking wires and a blocking mat in order to accomplish this successfully. Problem is I don't own either, and the scarf is really impossible to wear until it is properly blocked.

My blocking solution

If the truth be told, the scarf has been finished for a few weeks as I have contemplated whether to spend the type of money necessary to buy wires and a mat. I even purchased some coated fine grade electrical wire from the local hardware store thinking it might work. But I didn't make an effort to come up with a solution to the blocking mat. After much stewing (more so than really necessary) it came to me. I own a yoga mat that is a bit too thin to use on uncarpeted floors in the winter, even here in Vancouver. After using it for several years I treated myself to a thicker one and semi-retired the thinner purple mat.

However, this mat was just perfect for my scarf. When it is placed on a futon, the stainless steel stick pins I bought years ago when I actually sewed, can be pushed through the mat into the futon to secure my scarf. And the added benefit of this particular yoga mat is it has a very nice grid on it.

See all the perfectly straight horizontal and vertical lines

This grid makes keeping the lines straight very easy without having to use a ruler. So this morning I wet/washed my scarf, rolled it to a damp dry in a very large towel. Then with just a bit of stretching, pinning and tugging, I have it just the way I want it. All that's needed now is a couple of days to completely dry and my new scarf will hold its beautiful shape. So my Before and After scarf is absolutely finished. Good thing too because it didn't make the WIPs list.

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Flagel Knitting Files

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