Find more information and an entry form in KnitBits #300! Dig into your stash or head to your LYS for these eligible yarns: Berroco Sox, Berroco Sox Metallic, Comfort Sock and Ultra Alpaca Fine and start sketching, swatching, SCHEMING!

I’m busily preparing to head to Sock Summit 2009 where you can visit the Berroco booth (#418) to learn more about our sock yarn offerings or get inspired for your own sock yarn designs. I’m not much of a sock knitter but I am over the moon for sock YARNS for a lot of reasons. It’s affordable (so much yardage for so little money!), it’s not overly delicate, the colors and the cool striping effects are right up my alley and the finer weight makes a really wearable fabric. It’s also highly stashable!

Why do you love sock yarn? Let me know in the comments!

CR

]]> http://blog.berroco.com/2009/07/10/be-a-sock-star/feed/ 1 ciriliarose sockstar http://blog.berroco.com/2009/06/24/free-pattern-in-action/ http://blog.berroco.com/2009/06/24/free-pattern-in-action/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:32:00 +0000 norahgaughan http://blog.berroco.com/?p=876 ]]>

We decided to take a different tact this week and showed Friday’s free pattern (named Ditto) in size large, photographed on our fabulous new size 16 dress form. This, conveniently  ;) , happens to be my size. Naturally, it made sense for me to wear this sweater to the trade show. Cirilia gave a link to this video last week, but we thought you’d want to see our free pattern in action, so it was worth a second mention.  (For extra clarification – Ditto, the free pattern,  is the grey one on the left)

Thanks again to Mary Heather from Ravelry for graciously allowing us use of her video. BTW,  Cirilia’s yellow cardigan is Potter from Norah gaughan vol5.

The Fall ‘09 booklets have arrived at Berroco and have started to ship to stores!

What can I say that hasn’t already been said all over the Interweb? I was Tweeting our trip, you can catch up at our Twitter page. It was a whirlwind! It was my second time attending the The National Needle Arts trade show and I felt a lot more comfortable with my new perch. The new collection was really well-received and I was thrilled to see my first design sent down a runway (Locus from the Booklet #289 Lustra). With all the excitement surrounding supersoft Blackstone Tweed and the mega-affordable Vintage Wool, I feel like Lustra is getting lost in the shuffle! I’m designing with it now and it’s gorgeous–so shiny and the colors are soOoooOoo pretty. It’s hard to pick a favorite!! That said, I’m knitting with the deep violet blue Provence =)

It is always inspiring to be around so many knitting greats, but the highlight of this show for me was catching up with the younger ‘new guard’ knitters, too many to list here but you know who they are! It’s staggering to look around and see all the bloggers I’ve read for years working for yarn companies, publishing books, going on book tours, building websites and generally kicking butt in the yarn world. And oh yes, having a mess of fun while doing it…Casey from Ravelry suggested that Ysolda and I have a knitwear model walk-off, a la Zoolander (I can only find this Lego version on YouTube)…madness ensued in the lobby of our hotel, with an audience of knitting stars that quickly became our paparazzi.

Watch the Great Model-Off of 2009, graciously shot and compiled by the lovely Laura Chau.

Ysolda and I did our best to recreate all of the most notorious cliches of the knitting fashion world, including one of our favorite tricks, putting on a sweater upside down (a la Violette-de-Luc and Linear)! This usually happens by accident when a stylist misunderstands a garment but with Norah Gaughan sweaters it is often pretty uncanny, they look amazing and completely new! In the videos below you’ll get to see Potter from Norah Gaughan vol. 5 upside down and it looks fantastic. I’ll admit, I was pretty neutral about this sweater before, mostly because it wasn’t very Norah-y. After wearing it all night and noticing the details (perfect collar, cool sleeves, ability to look good when worn “incorrectly…”) I’m sold! And you have to love Mimosa, an energetic new shade of Pure Merino.

Mary-Heather from Ravelry captured Norah jumping to my aid and Jessica from Seattle’s Fiber Gallery captured the SCREAMS of laughter. I’ve uploaded a gallery on Flickr with some iPhone snapshots…not great quality, but hopefully they’ll make one thing clear: Berroco <3s Columbus!

CR

Tomorrow brings the big reveal of our fall ‘09 line in our newsletter and on the web site. That also means that it was time to get it all up in Ravelry. Cirilia’s logged a jillion hours (in the past 2 days) doing just that . I have to admit that we are both embarrassingly addicted to checking the Ravelry booklet pages to see which items are the most popular. It doesn’t always go as predicted.

Looky – 2 people have already started Cirilia’s cool dress Noyaux! Although the patterns won’t be printed for another 2 weeks, it’s great to see enthusiasm.

link to booklet 288 on ravelry

Early sitings indicated that Cormorant would be the favorite from norah gaughan vol 5 , but Anhinga is a run away fave so far.

link to NGV5 on ravelry

Check out all the new yarns on our web site too!

The coming of a new season means a new batch of audio slide shows, where Cirilia and I reveal lesser known info about each garment and you can see back views and close ups that we don’t have displayed anywhere else. Look for these starting next week. We are also going to produce a lot more short how-to videos, starting the week after next.  All of the video content will be available on youtube and i-tunes too.

It was quite thrilling to read all of your comments on blocking. Many of you are in agreement with us that it is a vital part of the knitting process. I hope I allayed some fears; a lot of us seem to hear a strident voice telling us that we have to do things a certain way. My M.O. with knitting is a little more casual. That said, there were lots of great questions which made me think that a second post about blocking would be welcomed. 

Notes

I forgot to credit the Jubilee pattern! It is Norah’s design. It was actually meant to be included in one of the fall books and was cut because it was a little too delicate next to all the other sweaters in that collection. The name has a slightly scientific origin…any guesses? 

I have to first confess that the adorable blocking board inspector is not my pooch! Her name is Simone, she is from the South, belongs to my housemates and is something of a model! Fellow knitter Li Ward from Fat Cat Studios recently photographed her: http://www.fatorangecatstudio.com/blog/2009/05/simone/

-CR

Questions

Where can I buy blocking supplies? 

CR: Check your local yarn shop, or if that doesn’t work, use an online retailer. Lots of knitting shops stock these items and if they don’t….tell them they should! 

NG: I have to admit I usually retro fit supplies. For years I used a cardboard cutting board made for sewing as a backing board for my wet blocking. It did get all warped and messy looking but the inch marks are great and it’s inexpensive. My favorite blocking tool, the steamer I bought at a big box store, is definitely my friend.

Can you block acrylic yarns? 

CR: It depends. You can’t block it in the true sense because acrylic fibers don’t have the memory that wool does, therefore they aren’t as malleable. Every finished object can benefit from a wash and a shake though! This simple finished step will even stitches and smooth wrinkles. 

NG: Be very careful, heat can totally change the nature of acrylic yarn. It can flatten and soften, but that’s not always good, and once the yarn is heated, it won’t bounce back. Misting with cold water or wet blocking the pieces should yield reliable results.

Why do the pins and wires have to be rust proof? 

CR: When you wet block a natural item it can often take several days to air dry completely. There is a danger of rusting and staining if you don’t use specially treated pins.

How do I block (cotton, silk, blends, etc.)? How do I block a sweater, toy, blanket, scarf? Basically, how do I know which method to use and when? 

CR: Wool is definitely the most blockable fiber out there, meaning it will be the most flexible when wet and will remain in the shape you pin it into when it dries. Other fibers will still benefit from blocking but you may not see a dramatic change or be able to sculpt it as much as something made from wool or a wool blend. Be aware that certain fibers will do wacky things when they hit the water! Bamboo will shrink, cotton will groooow, but they will return to normal, I promise! 

You can chose your method based on what your project needs. Is it something made in pieces that needs to be flatter before seaming? Steam them before seaming. Does it already look pretty decent? Go with a light steaming. Did you take the whole project on a camping trip? Give it a good wash/wet blocking. Lace patterns almost always require a real stretching. 

NG:  Test the method you think want to use on your swatch to reduce suprises.  In my experience, the only thing you can really mess up by blocking is acrylic.  so they is no reason to be afraid.

Should I block pieces before I seam them or after?

CR: I think it’s easier to gently steam them flat before seaming. A more rigorous wet blocking can happen post-seaming. 

NG: I pretty much agree, except i tend to block the pieces strongly be fore seaming and lightly steam the finished product.  It’s way easier to sew you sweater together if you block the pieces first and way easier to shape and stretch to the desired  while all is still flat.

How long does blocking last? Should I re-block an item after I wash it? 

NG: In most cases, drying the sweater flat IS blocking it.

I know you can stretch knitting during blocking but can you shorten or shrink knitting this way? 

NG:  Not much, in my experience, with the exception being rayon or bamboo yarns which stretch when you wear them, shrink up when wet and dry to be more relaxed.

How do I block a round or irregularly shaped item? How do I block a really LARGE item? How do I block a hat or beret? 

CR: Ideally you would use large blocking boards, but they’re expensive! Some readers mentioned that they use cork boards. A simple Google search turns up lots of tutorials for making your own blocking boards; my favorite tip is using gingham fabric with 1” squares. Cute and functional! I usually don’t block hats but I’ll block a beret over a 10” dinner plate to encourage slouchiness. 

NG: Tailoring hams are very helpful for steam blocking rounded objects like hats.  For huge items, you might try blocking it folded and steam the fold our after.

Why should I use a special wool wash? What if I am allergic to lanolin? 

CR: Soak is lanolin free, but often wool washes will contain lanolin, the naturally occurring oil present in sheep’s wool. The idea is that the wool washes with lanolin recondition and soften fibers that may have lost some lanolin in processing. Wool washes are often formulated to be low-sudsing, which means that rinsing isn’t altogether necessary (the detergents evaporate as the fabric dries). This is a good thing when you’re trying to avoid over-handling a garment that might felt. 

I have to admit it made me cringe to hear that some of you are using dishwashing detergent! That is an extremely harsh detergent meant for super messes, not delicate fibers. If you want to economize, baby shampoo is a much gentler option.

NG: I have been known to use shampoo in a pinch, but I like the aroma of many of the washes now on the market (and I usually don’t like scented products!)

Will blocking flatten my pattern or take away the handmade look? 

CR: If you’re worried about losing the dimensionality of a pattern stitch, block less aggressively. Don’t stretch the fabric as tightly as a drum head, and think about forgoing pins. Pat it into shape and allow to dry. The wires can be reserved for flatter sweater pieces and lace projects. 

NG:  Non of the methods we mention will take the “handmade”look away, like flattening with an iron will. remember, the piece will eventually be hand washed and dried flat and it will still look handmade then. I don’t care for the look of sweaters after they’ve been to the dry cleaner. 

Can I block only certain portions of an item? For instance, on the Jubilee scarf, can I block the lace and not the cabled portion? 

CR: You might be able to finagle this…but my first recommendation would be to simply block less aggressively. 

NG:  Steam is perfect for this, you can pull at the portions you want to stretch out and leave the other parts lightly steamed.

Congratulations to Joyce from MO, the winner of the Soak gift bag and blocking wires!

The gift fairy is working in overdrive this month. Or I should say, Cirilia’s work with our generous partners is in overdrive this month? Look for a give-away in our weekly newsletter, Knitbits, this Friday (May 22).  If you don’t already subscribe, you can find a link to the survey /entry form on our home page. Answer our survey and enter to win a gorgeous Tom Bihn bag filled with Berroco Peruvia Quick. (Enough to make Nimbus in any of the sizes written). 

This is the cork version of the  bag designed by Knitty readers.  It’s phenomenally cool, with inside pockets and a stuff sack included. We’ll be giving away 4 of them!

Coming soon – answers to your blocking questions….

ETA 5/26/2009: Congrats to Joyce, our contest winner! Thank you all for participating. The comments at now closed and we will be posting a follow-up blocking Q&A soon. 

“You blockhead!”

One of many epithets hurled at long-suffering Charlie Brown, but if you called Norah and me blockheads…we’d grin from ear to ear and say “Yup!” You can be a happy blockhead too! This week’s free KnitBits pattern is the Jubilee scarf, knit in Ultra Alpaca Fine and it provides the perfect opportunity  to show off why we are in love with blocking!

Blocking has a magical ability to transform your knitting. This power has even become an office joke. The way Norah says “a little steam….!” in a chirpy infomercial lady way (heard at the end of our Shoulder Seam video tutorial) is her version of “Make it work!!”

There are so many ways to block a garment, and trying to sort out the all the opinions and “rules” can be daunting. I’ve used practically every method imaginable and I have some tips: 

Choose the sort of blocking that is appropriate for your garment or item. If it looks pretty good and you haven’t been carrying the work around with you much you might be able to get away with a light steaming or spritzing. Fill a spray bottle with water and a few drops of a wool wash like Soak and spritz your sweater until it is damp. Pat it into shape and allow it to dry flat. I also use this to freshen up  knitting that I don’t feel like laundering, or wet blocking, a more labor intensive process which I’ve shown here (note that the iron and steamer aren’t used in wet blocking, if you’re steaming you should pin first, then apply steam by hovering the iron or steamer ABOVE the fabric, not ON the fabric): 

Clockwise from top left: 1. Jubilee lace, unblocked on left and blocked on right, 2. Trusty upright steamer!, 3. Trusty heavy iron with steam function, 4. Blocking helpers: colander, blocking wires (the wires ensure that you get a nice straight edge and they only require a few pins versus a meeellion), Soak wash, rust proof T-pins, 5. Warm water bath, 6. Soaking, 7. Gently press water out of item (sometimes I use a salad spinner for this!), 9. A towel can help squeeze out excess water. 10. Blocking board inspection, 10. Blocking board declared up to code!, 11. Thread wires through edges of knitting, 12. Stretch, pin and allow to dry! 

Blocked to perfection: 

Wet blocking and laundering are essentially the same in my mind and they’re absolutely crucial for lace projects like Jubilee. It offers the most dramatic transformation for your knitting; while wet, knitted fabric is a lot like clay and can be shaped to your specifications. This can come in handy when a piece didn’t come out to the exact measurements you intended it to. Even if your knitting is the right size, a wet blocking will smooth your stitches. I like to hold it at the corners and stretch it in all directions like pizza dough. I shake it a lot and then pin it. This makes my knitting look so much more even than it does fresh off the needles. 

I’m working on a project in Ultra Alpaca Fine right now and Norah’s scarf has totally inspired me to keep plugging along so I can BLOCK it an reveal it’s beauty. Besides all the benefits, blocking is just plain fun! Seeing your crumple of knitting turn into something polished and beautiful is extremely surprising and always rewarding. 

Thanks for reading! I’m excited to offer a blocking starter kit to one lucky blog reader–the blocking kit will contain a set of blocking wires and an excellent prize pack from Soak with labels for your handknits, sample sizes of all their scents and a full size bottle of my favorite scent, Celebration. Soak Washes have been in my arsenal since they debuted in 2005. It is gentle, which is perfect for fine fibers, concentrated which makes it budget friendly and the best part–it is so pretty!! The packaging is worthy of bureau display and the scents are so incredibly delicate. I sent a Soakified sweater to friend and he commented that it smelled “so good!”

soak prize

Good luck and happy blocking, Blockheads!

Cirilia 

Contest Rules: Contest open to readers in the US and Canada only. Berroco employees not eligible. Contest closes 5/21/2009 12:00 a.m. EST. Duplicate entries will be deleted. 

Yippee!!! We’ve uploaded our audio slideshows and instructional videos to itunes. They appear as a podcast named “Knit with Berroco”.  Search for Berroco or Cirilia or Norah in the itunes store.

This is so exciting for me. Being on itunes feels so legitimate. Maybe that’s silly but, in any case, it’s a convenient and easy way to access information. I’m really into itunes and hulu these days, since I decided to go without cable TV. I’ve been knitting away each night, watching/ listening to shows like Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, This American Life, How the Earth was Made” (geology is SO COOL), the Colbert Report, Iconoclasts,  and my continuing favorite, the nerd spy, Chuck.

– Norah

Things are crazy in the design studio! So many things to get ready before the last leg of photography! We’re in the home stretch though. Follow us on Twitter for more frequent updates…

CR & NG