I learn the importance of Blocking...correctly

File this under "lessons learned".

I *finally* finished my v-neck vest (check out all of those picked-up stitches around the collar and arms!) and completed the seaming one night at my knitting group. When I tried it on, I realized that it was a bit short for my taste. One of my knit pals reminded me that I could solve that problem in the blocking (thanks Terri!) Of course, I knew the power of blocking and how it can make lemonade out of knitting lemons. The next night I proceeded to wet-block it with the goal of making it longer. Here is my completed vest. Notice anything "odd" about it? Look a little blocky to you?
Here's me wearing the vest. Notice anything odd? Does it seem a bit wide to you? See how it hangs off my shoulders and how wide the "v" is? And that's *after* some major styling on my part (I even pulled in the waist a bit in the back so it wouldn't be so gruesome in the photo). Well, it seemed a bit wide to me, too. I decided to sit down with the lovely schematic provided by my pattern to see how my vest measured up. It was a whole two inches wider than the schematic. If you are an observant knitter, you may be asking yourself why I waited until *after* I blocked the sweater to check the schematic.

Yeah, that's the problem.

I blocked this baby the day after I blocked Jennifer's lace scarf. With lace, the goal is to pull and stretch the item 'till it won't stretch no more. And...um...that's what I did with my vest. No schematic, no measurements, just pure stretching and pinning.

Last night I re-blocked my sweater and actually used the schematic. The results will be revealed...next time!