stocking blocking

If you enjoy knitting socks, then I imagine you’ll possess a pair of sock blockers. But what if you are knitting stockings or knee highs, like the Phillis Wheatley Peters, Elizabeth Montagu, or Elizabeth Carter patterns we’ve featured in the club? How to block a pair of socks of longer length?

Here’s a simple solution.

1. Get hold of a basic pack of interlocking foam mats (widely and cheaply available). The squares in this set are 12 in x 12 in / 30cm x 30cm.

2. With a sharpie, draw round an existing sock blocker, or sketch a basic sock shape directly onto the mat. Position your sock shape at an angle, so that the cuff of the sock runs parallel to the top of the mat (and its interlocking edge). Cut out your sock shape with a craft knife or sharp scissors.

. . .the interlocking top edge means that you now have a bonus sock shape to block a sock of regular length . . .

. . . but you now need to create your stocking blocking add-on. So:

3. Assess the maximum width of your stocking blocker add-on by measuring the circumference of the calf which the stockings are to fit. Divide this measurement in two, then take about half an inch / 1.5cm off this measurement (to factor in some negative ease and ensure the stocking retains some stretch). This measurement is your blockers’ maximum width.

4. Slot your cut-out sock shape into a second square (ensuring the interlocking elements match up and click together), then draw two lines from the top of the sock, gradually extending out to your maximum width measurement. Round off the top. (If preferred, you could draw a shin and calf shape, rather than two gradually extending lines, but here we’ve kept things very simple).

5. Now cut out your stocking top shape from the mat. . . .

. . . and interlock the add-on with the sock shape!

Bingo! Your stocking blockers are ready for some stocking blocking!