Crochet Every Day: The Purple Shawl

The Purple Shawl

The shawl is finished! A few of you commented on my earlier post and photo of it, so I thought I’d show you how it came out. (Pretty good, I think.)

 This was my first attempt at blocking something I’ve crocheted. Blocking means using moisture on a finished piece to even out the shape and define the stitches and just generally make the thing look better and, as I read somewhere, look “handcrafted” rather than “homemade.”

Before blocking

After checking several sources, print and Internet, I got ready for the procedure. I went out and bought rustproof pins. I found a spray bottle from an old cleaner and washed it thoroughly. I decided to do the process on the rug in a spare bedroom, and I found an old quilt to spread out on the floor and covered it with two large towels and a sheet.  Then I painstakingly pinned the shawl down using every one of the 80 pins I bought.

After this I sprayed it thoroughly with water until shawl and backing materials were fully wet. Then I left the room and closed the door to keep the dog out.

 Next morning everything was dry, and the pinned shawl looked like this:

I think the difference is pretty clear. It looks much straighter and the edges are more even. Here it is with the loose ends woven in:

I was so pleased with the way it turned out that I took it to my LYS to show my crochet guru, Helen, who very nicely took this picture!

I wore it under my coat to dinner and movie last night and it was just what I needed to keep me warm in places that I usually find chilly (meaning both the locations and my shoulders and arms!)

On to the next project--finishing my cowl. I also just found a charity site that I'm excited about: the Snuggles Project, making "snuggly" little blankets for animals in shelters. I'm going to try that one soon.