Free Spirit Topper Knit-Along: Blocking & Seaming

Friends! Fellow Knitters! I cannot believe we have reached the end of another fantastic knit along. I admit I felt a little overwhelmed when I read the Free Spirit Topper pattern — all those stockinette stitches! – but I am SO GLAD I stuck with it because my topper is so cozy. I haven’t taken it off since I finished.

For those of you who have not finished, I have a few last items of business to share with you.

First of all I want to talk about blocking. When I finished my two panels, they puckered in the middle, inside the seed stitch border:

I decided that blocking before I combined the two pieces was the best idea. I found this fabric does not require much manipulation, so I wet each piece and squeezed the water out gently. Keep in mind there is a 20% animal fiber component to this yarn, so it’s best not to agitate your yarn, to avoid felting. I laid one piece on my stone kitchen bar countertop and flattened out the puckering. I then placed the second panel directly on top of it, shaping it identically.

I let it dry this way for about a day and then separated the two so that they could get enough air to completely dry.

Once the pieces were nice and flat, I could line them up on my wood floor to begin seaming the back. Only…I seamed the fronts together! NO! Just make sure you pay attention to the diagram on the pattern and remember, when we added that stitch after 31” it is that ADDED STITCH part of the border that is being sewn together. I had a brain lapse after all that knitting!

I used whip stitch to seam my garment. I found it worked well and barely detectable as long as the color was similar to the colorway in the pieces.

For a second I thought about adding pockets, but I was too burnt out from all that knitting…I took a pic of the side seams and markers for where I imagined pockets could go:

Let me know if you decide to add some!

I said it already, but I am literally wearing my topper non stop. I even wore it OVER my jacket the other night on a walk in my neighborhood. I absolutely love how cozy it is and I can throw it on anything, or even dress it up with a belt!

Thank you for having me as your free spirit leader. Tweet me pix of your topper @kristyglass and your styling ideas ok? Happy Holidays and Happy Knitting!

I am Kristy Glass and I am so thrilled to be infiltrating the Lion Brand blog to lead you in the 2015 Fall Knit Along! Even though I learned to knit as a girl, my passion for fiber arts has escalated at a very steep rate these past several years. I returned to knitting and began crocheting about 8 years ago after I suffered an unexpected health setback leaving me feeling completely out of control. Hand work was a healing salve for my body and soul as I suffered through a long healing process. Thankfully I continue to use knitting to aid meditation, solace and a feeling of accomplishment. I knit year round, despite weather changes, and I am highly anticipating us all knitting together on this project. I have completed over 100 projects including scarves, cowls, hats, hand warmers, phone cozies, afghans, pillows, sweaters and yarn bombing. My most recent passion has been making sweaters and actually wearing what I make!