It is time for the washing of the shop samples. You may recall, in a previous post, that I had already begun this process.
Washing Hand-knits
I like to hand wash my hand knitted garments. I put them in lukewarm water with shampoo. Sometimes I use the kitchen sink, but if there are a lot of them, I use the bathtub. After a good soak of at least 30 minutes, I drain the water and gently squeeze them out a bit. Then I refill with more cool fresh water and swish them to rinse for a few minutes. Then I drain the rinse water and squeeze them out somewhat. Don’t wring them, which can stretch and distort the garments.
At this point, you can roll them in towels until damp dry, or put them in the washing machine and set it on the spin only cycle if you have one. I am fortunate to have that option, so that is usually what I do.
Blocking Hand Knits
These are only a few examples of how I block hand knits. Lace shawls need the most attention when it comes to blocking. All lace garments need blocking on their first wash after knitting, but some won’t need a full pinned out blocking after every wash. Shawls will look their best if you go to the trouble to pin them out after each wash. Fortunately, they don’t need it too often.
I didn’t take pictures of all the samples as I went through the process of washing and blocking. I think I have around 50 samples in the booth, but I didn’t count. It is a lot though. Trust me. I spent about 2 weeks doing all of them. I even ordered more Knit Blockers and Blocking Mats. Sometimes, depending on what I was blocking, I used all I had and could have used more. I highly recommend these tools to make a tedious job a bit easier. (no affiliation, just like them)
Ready for New Tags
After I finished washing and blocking everything I decided they really needed some new sample tags. The old ones were looking ratty. I also wanted to change some of the information to be more relevant to the questions I frequently get in the booth. I spent a few hours one afternoon making all new tags and I like them much better. I hope they will be more helpful for customers too. Many people like to take a picture of the card and I think these will be more readable for that.
Today, I got all the tags put back on to the proper samples. There are also some patterns that I am knitting new samples for. The reason I am doing that is to refresh them with current colors in my inventory. I have yarn picked out for five patterns. So far I have finished one and I am close to completing a second one.
New Knitting Projects
The pink baby sweater is done except for some buttons. This is my Classic Baby Cardigan in my Superwash Sport yarn in the Tea Rose color. I knit the smallest size here from one skein of yarn. I knit the sweater in just one week even though the gauge is 6.5 stitches per inch on US 3 and US 1 needles.
The purple cowl is my Maize Cowl pattern in Classic Merino Superwash DK yarn in my new color from last year, Wisteria. This is one of my favorite cowls to wear. It is also a really fast knit. I can complete one on 3-5 sittings.
I will show you the other things I have in the queue when I get them on the needles, which should be soon.
It’s funny, people probably think your job is just knitting and dyeing yarn, but there is SO much more involved! I personally appreciate you letting us see the inside of your operation, it gives me a greater appreciation for the work and love that goes into your craft. So thank you for this!!
That is very true, and thank you so much! I am glad you are enjoying the posts.
I suspect you are right. Fresh tags and the fresh blocking will make everything look new which will make the booth look and feel new too.
Thank you 😊.
There is so much that goes into running and maintaining your business. I imagine the shop samples are a very important part of it all. Nothing says “buy me” more than seeing the garment knit up and displayed beautifully. I love the wisteria colorway. That name is perfect!
Yes, the samples are vital. Thank you for your compliments. I am a big purple fan. I have been itching for a chance to knit with the Wisteria. I finished the Cowl last night! Look for a picture of that in my next post. 😃
Will do!
I commend you for all the beautiful work you do. It’s inspiring to see the care that goes into your craft and business. I wish I had the patience for lace. Maybe I’ll try it one day!
Thank you for your kind words. I hope you do try lace knitting. It is very interesting and rewarding. The worst thing that can happen is that you don’t enjoy it, and it’s easy to rip it out and let the yarn become something else. 😉