My Swirled Pearl Shawl

I loved doing this shawl. The yarn was like working with butter. So soft and warm. The pattern was easy and it was so very fun to see it get bigger and bigger and see all the lovely beads. I'm not a big shawl person, but I will wear this one.

People often ask me about blocking, mostly because I block everything. I block the pieces of a sweater before I seam. The first reason is because the yarn needs washing. Washing sets the stitches and removes any dye that remains. AND I've handled the yarn and pieces for months, so it could use a wash. The other reason I block everything is it makes the all the edges flat, which makes seaming much easier. And the fronts and sleeves match in size, again making seaming easier. It give the finished sweater a crisper look. And I think it's one thing that makes it look more handmade instead of homemade.

And of course you must block lace, sometimes serverly. Lace need to be blocked because it is knit on needles that are bigger than what you would use for that weight of yarn. So you need to open up and set the stitches.

The Swirled Pearl Shawl isn't all that lacey, but even with this shawl you can see the difference blocking makes. This is the shawl fresh off the needles. Notice the curling edges and that is fits on one blocking board.


Here is the shawl being blocked. Notice it now covers two blocking boards.


And here it is! I love it!