Hey, Nice Rack!
So, I picked up my Fair entries today. No judges notes, just the ribbons and a check for the second place entry. When I saw the "alternative display method" they used for Zigzag, my eyes rolled right out of my head onto the floor. Onto the dirty, Astroturfed floor. Yup, right there next to my sweater. Oh, well. It turns out there was no visible harm done, after all. I decided to reblock anyway.
The first time I blocked this sweater, I didn't pin it, I would just occasionally "encourage" it by tugging it to the dimensions I wanted it to achieve. This "method" is perhaps why it fit me like a sausage casing. Just a thought. I know that certain cultures dry their sweaters on a frame, or rack, and I was struck with a frugal genius moment.
Today, I made my own sweater rack! I noted how big around I wanted the sweater to be (in my case, 38" seemed to be a good amount of ease. Not too tight, and not too loose) and divided by 2. 19". I wanted my frame to span 19" or therabouts. I figured 22" in height would be a good, reusable measure. I went to the craft store and headed for the painters' supplies. There, I snagged four sections of canvas stretching frame. Two 22" and two 18" (they didn't stock 19" and the sections are about 1/2" deep, so it was close enough) Just my luck, painting supplies were 30% off this week, so instead of the whopping $4.88 I was willing to pay for my supplies, the grand total came to $3.42.
Here are the pieces, all laid out (they come pre-mitered and have a tongue and groove joint so that you can just slide them together. Slick.)
Here is my frame, all ready to hold the sweater after a few minor adjustments are made...
I took some batting and padded the corners, wrapping them with plastic wrap from the kitchen. If I had had some quilt batting, I might have padded out all the edges, but that would make the dismantling for storage and the resizing as needed a bit trickier. I then stuffed the whole contraption into a tall kitchen garbage bag, (clean, of course) since wool sweaters do not like to dry on thirsty materials, (mold, anyone?) and then placed it carefully inside Zigzag, who had been soaking all this time and had been rolled in a towel and had her excess water gently pressed out.
She looks happier already.
The first time I blocked this sweater, I didn't pin it, I would just occasionally "encourage" it by tugging it to the dimensions I wanted it to achieve. This "method" is perhaps why it fit me like a sausage casing. Just a thought. I know that certain cultures dry their sweaters on a frame, or rack, and I was struck with a frugal genius moment.
Today, I made my own sweater rack! I noted how big around I wanted the sweater to be (in my case, 38" seemed to be a good amount of ease. Not too tight, and not too loose) and divided by 2. 19". I wanted my frame to span 19" or therabouts. I figured 22" in height would be a good, reusable measure. I went to the craft store and headed for the painters' supplies. There, I snagged four sections of canvas stretching frame. Two 22" and two 18" (they didn't stock 19" and the sections are about 1/2" deep, so it was close enough) Just my luck, painting supplies were 30% off this week, so instead of the whopping $4.88 I was willing to pay for my supplies, the grand total came to $3.42.
Here are the pieces, all laid out (they come pre-mitered and have a tongue and groove joint so that you can just slide them together. Slick.)
Here is my frame, all ready to hold the sweater after a few minor adjustments are made...
I took some batting and padded the corners, wrapping them with plastic wrap from the kitchen. If I had had some quilt batting, I might have padded out all the edges, but that would make the dismantling for storage and the resizing as needed a bit trickier. I then stuffed the whole contraption into a tall kitchen garbage bag, (clean, of course) since wool sweaters do not like to dry on thirsty materials, (mold, anyone?) and then placed it carefully inside Zigzag, who had been soaking all this time and had been rolled in a towel and had her excess water gently pressed out.
She looks happier already.
posted by Bitterknitter at 1:13 PM
1 Comments:
*whew* Glad to hear the sweater is on her way back to proper form. What a great drying rack innovation you've come up with! I have to admit, I had a good snicker at your title. :)
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