Wasn’t there a fairy tale about a toad and a prince? Do you believe in magic? Well, just compare the before and after of knitted lace!

I was reflecting on that today as I replied to a concern on one of the lace knitting e-lists by someone about “alpaca kind of bunches up when knit and doesn’t lie flat at all. Should I use larger needles … or use the alpaca for something other than lace?”

Alpaca is one of my favs for lace and I certainly hope she won’t give up on using her alpaca yarn. Just so happens I am in midst of working a model for the new HeartStrings pattern Elemental Changes Shetland Stole in an alpaca-blend yarn called “Sarah” from Kraemer.

You can see the unblocked work-in-progress (messy heap of knitting – you talk about bunching up!) vs. the blocked swatch that I did first so I can plan measurements, yardage amounts, etc. appropriately, as well as make sure early on that the end product will be as expected. Look at the comparison here … You talk about a toad turned into prince(ss) – right?

So I recommended that she wash and block a sample swatch in whatever way she was planning to do with the lace article that she was knitting (which happened to also be a stole) before you make a decision to scrap or change course. Knowing that she (and maybe you, too?) are one of the ‘I hate to swatch’ bunch, you could still consider doing a Blocking in Progress.

So don’t scrap a lace knitting project before blocking a sample. By blocking a smaller sample (or in-progress piece) as you will the finished article, you will have the confidence to move ahead (or take another course if not satisfied with the sample). And if moving ahead, you will have stress-free pleasure throughout the knitting of the project in anticipation of that final magical moment of the final blocking to turn the toad into a princess.

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