My Nook Cover - How to Block Knitting

I recently finished making a cover for my Nook Color and I really love how it turned out!

The pattern is a really fantastic one for learning some new techniques or for brushing up on some old ones :). I got the pattern for free the pattern is good for both a Nook or a Kindle and I think the designer even has a version for an IPad cover you can get the pattern here. The pattern included Judy's magic cast on, knitting in the round, cables, and button holes. Since it is such a small project it is a fantastic starting point for both knitting in the round and cables. Another technique that would be handy to learn for this project is blocking.

Blocking is a process that helps shape your knitting and adds a polished look to the project. It can help you get the final product to look more evenly knit and professional.  It is especially important with lace knitting to bring stitch definition. Take a look at these two pictures of this scarf:

The first pic shows the blocked scarf the second pic was taken before I blocked it. By using the process of blocking you can see that I was able to really show off the lacework of the scarf. For my project however, I needed to block it so that the flap would remain even with the body of the case. Unblocked it had a bit too much curl:

The way you begin blocking is by first soaking your finished product for an hour to get the fibers in the yarn to relax. (this method works for yarns that are machine/hand wash) I sometimes add a gentle cleaner to the water as well:








Once the yarn has had the chance to rest, remove your knitting from the water and gently squeeze dry so that your work isn't sopping. Then place it on a towel. Sometimes if I am blocking a large object like a shawl I will use a few towels. I then roll the towel with knitting on it into a tight ball to remove any additional water from my project. I want my work to be damp but not super duper wet.




I then place my work onto a completley dry towel. If you have a spare bed you may want to place it on this but a carpeted floor or even puzzle floor foam pieces will work. I then begin marking out the shape of my project with a string of yarn and some stick pins I push the pins into my carpet so that they are secure but I don't go in so deep that I hit the floor. I made a basic outline of my nook and then outlined the shape and length I want my flap to end up as you can see my case needs to be stretched a bit to look a bit more rectangular:

Once I had my outline mapped out I placed my project inside the lines and began pinning it to fit the outline. I started with stretching the fabric to reach each corner and placed a pin at the corners tacking the fabric down.

 I then pinned down the middle of each line and worked my way pinning at the halfway point between each pin until the case was secured to the desired shape.
Since I wanted to be really sure my flap lined up with the rest of the case I pinned it all throughout gently stretching it to sure the pattern lined up with the case.


After that I just let my project dry. This could take a day or more depending on how wet the project is. But once it is dry all you have to do is remove the pins. If your project isn't quite the right shape yet you can repeat the process until it is. There are other methods of blocking and it is important to be aware of your yarn and what kind of manipulation it can take before stretching it with wet blocking. If it is too fragile you may want to research some of the other methods such as steam, or spray blocking. I think that's all I have for now. I'll leave you with some pics of my finished Nook Cover which will protect it from dust and smudges in my purse. Until next time, Happy Knitting :)

The Back Is all cabled