Blocking

Do you block the knits that you make? I am a firm believer in blocking. This is my version of Cheryl Oberle's Chinese Red Vest (what make it different? the color). Cheryl can be found on Ravelry if you want to look her up. This pattern can be found in her book, Folk Vests. I have two of her three books: Folk Vests and Folk Shawls. 

Any hoo, back to blocking. This is being wet blocked. I soaked the vest in warm water and then squeezed the excess water out with my hands. I then rolled it in a beach towel and stood on it to remove more water. 

This is a horrible photo as I was holding my iPad mini flat, or trying to anyway, and it looks like I did not do a good job. See the blocking wires? I wanted straight edges except at the neckline and armhole and to achieve that I used wires. I use T-pins pushed into the mattress to not only hold the wires in place but to shape the armholes and neckline.

I have the perfect place to block knitted items, in my humble opinion. There is a ceiling fan in my guest bedroom and I block things on the guest bed, turn the fan on low and leave it.