Blocking Crochet

As I posted yesterday, my mom is working on a crocheted jacket and I offered to block the single piece that makes up the body using my new blocking trinkets and tips. 
Its a good thing I did too because it would have taken up too much room in her apartment and doubt her knees could have withstood the crouching and crawling. Memo to self - insert ALL blocking wires - not just the long ones around the perimeter BEFORE pinning anything to the board! 

The measurements for this piece were 5 inches wider and three inches longer than what I tucked into the washing bag for its first SOAK yesterday.

Both in terms of the stitch design and the shaping its a very linear piece. 

This, combined with how far it had to stretch, I assure you would have been impossible to manage without the wires and the board and the instructions from Patrick's DKC workshop all brought to bear.

See how, even pinned and with wires it stubbornly pulled away from its original moorings as it dried?

Speaking of drying, with the fan on it was dry by the time I went to bed last night. (I couldn't go to sleep without sneaking down to pat it and check on the progress!) The pins remind me of little soldiers at attention - all on duty to keep things under control until the danger of shrinking is past. 

In the end, once fully dry this morning and after all the pins and wires were removed, the piece did spring back about an inch in both directions.  The fabric feels much more fluid and now has a lovely drape where before it was thick, dense and pretty stiff. I put this off to the fact its crocheted but obviously proper blocking has taken it to a point closer to its actual potential. On behalf of my mother the crocheter, once again thank you Patrick Madden! 

BTW the jacket is a kit from Sheldridge Farm purchased at last year's DKC Knitter's Frolic. Without attending the Frolic there's no chance my mom would ever have had opportunity to consider or buy this pattern and yarn. This year the Frolic is April  25-26th.- the marketplace, with vendors from all over is worth the trip alone but there are also two days of workshops - maybe Patrick will be teaching again!