cocoknits knitters block - blocking mat

First-time blockers are always amazed by the difference blocking makes to the final appearance of their knitting. After blocking, sweater parts lay flat, stitches even out, and what looked like a wild mess now behaves nicely. It’s like magic!

After 20 years of teaching knitting, I’ve never grown tired of instructing my students on finishing techniques. In fact, the technique of blocking is one of my favorite things to demonstrate.

I used to demonstrate blocking with pieces of carpet, but carpet scorched easily and was too thin for blocking pins to sink into. Rugs, towels and bulky blocking boards weren’t much better. Many of my students didn’t bother to block because it was such a cumbersome task.

With this in mind, I set out to improve on the carpet pieces. I eventually had special tiles custom made for blocking, and the end result is my Knitter’s Block kit.