I've finally finished my dream cableknit sweater, the Sweater no.20 , designed by My Favourite Things Knitwear. It took me a bit longer than expected because the sleeves were quite annoying to do, as they always are with top-down knitted sweaters. Next time I'm gonna try and knit the sleeves separately and attach with a kitchener stitch afterwards.
Once the sweater was done and I had weaved in all the ends, it was time for one more important step; the blocking. I don't know where the word originates from in this context but I find it to be a bit confusing, but hey, what isn't in the English language... Blocking is when you wash/moisten your knit or crochet and lay it down to dry to its final form. For some intricate lace work you might even need to pin it to something to make sure the shapes are perfect.
Blocking a sweater makes a huge difference in how the garment hangs, looks and feels, depending on the pattern and material. Some works can do without but for something like this with lots of cableknit texture, it's a game changer. Washing the knit relaxes and softens the fibres and makes the stitches more even. For once I actually took before and after pictures so you can see how much the knit changed in the process.
Blocking a sweater has many purposes and cleaning the knit is actually the least important. Depending on your yarn, how long it's been stored and where, how sweaty your hands get when doing a difficult part, and how much chips you have eater near the knit while making it, yours might actually need the wash.
I always use Istex's wool soap and conditioned, the manufacturer of the most popular Icelandic yarns. I only use a tiny bit of both, and you don't need to rinse out the conditioner. Depending on the work I might just use the conditioner, or vice versa.
I fill the basin with lukewarm water, add the soap and gently squeeze the knit to make sure it gets wet all the way through. Then I do a quick rinse, add more water and condition. Try and get as much water out of the knit at the end but never ever ring your knitwear.
I then rolled the sweater inside a towel, getting more water out, and then changed to a dry towel and lay the sweater on top, and then put another towel inside. Here is where you can fuss about with the shape and make sure everything is even. And now we wait, for almost 24 hours with this because it's a thick ass knit, deliciously so.
When the sweater started to dry, the yarn(s) bloomed beautifully and revealed the final shape and texture, absolutely fantastic.
