Categories: Crafts & Hobbies

How to Weave in Yarn Ends

Finishing your hand made crocheted or knitted project also requires weaving in the yarn ends. I know of at least three different ways to do this, and they may be other methods as well. Some people prefer to weave in the yarn ends as they’re working each row or section. I usually weave in my yarn ends, at the same time, as part of the finishing process.

It’s preferable to weave in the ends, into the back of your project rather then tying the yarn ends that are near each other in knots. If it is a wearable item, the knot might end up rubbing uncomfortably against the skin. The knots can come undone, and the item could possibly come apart in places or even unravel. That could cause some degree of embarrassment to you or your gift recipient. Weaving in the ends, helps secure the beginning and ending stitches of your work.

For each color you use you will have at least two yarn ends to weave in. The more colors you use the more yarn ends you will have to weave in. Even if you’re making a large project, such as an afghan in a solid color, there will still be a beginning and ending yarn end that needs to be woven into your work. For an afghan, at some point, you will need to join another ball or skein, to continue your project, so that adds to the yarn ends that will need to be woven in.

If your project is striped, then the majority of your yarn ends should be at the beginning and end of your rows. If you’re doing many small color changes throughout your project, then those yarn ends can appear throughout your work.

I usually use a yarn needle to weave in my yarn ends. These are reasonably priced and available at most yarn or craft stores. I leave about five to six inches, no matter where they may begin or end in my project. My personal preference is to use a metal yarn needle, as opposed to a plastic one. I’ve found the plastic yarn needles difficult to thread, though this may work easier for you.

When you’re weaving in the ends, you want to weave in at least a good inch or more of that yarn end into your work. So leaving a short tale of only an inch or two, is not only difficult to thread through the eye of a yarn needle, but doesn’t give you enough yarn to work with.

I’ve found it’s easier to fold the yarn in half and then insert the folded part through the eye of the yarn needle, in order to thread it. Some people will also dampen the yarn with saliva, or perhaps a small amount of water to get the plies of the yarn sticking together, making it easier to thread.

You start weaving in your ends into the wrong side of your work. The wrong side of a sweater, for example is the side that goes against your skin. While the right side of that sweater is the side that people see, when they admire your hand made item. You’ll want to weave your yarn ends into the crocheted or knitted stitches that are the same color as your yarn end, or close to it, so the yarn ends blend into your project. If your yarn end is burgundy, you’ll weave it through your burgundy crocheted or knitted stitches, or something that might be close in color to the burgundy area of your work..

You then start making small stitches, about a 1/4 of an inch in length, through your previously worked stitches. You continue sewing with small stitches, working the stitches back and forth in an area of about 1 or 2 inches in diameter. Sometimes you can use the yarn ends to tighten up stitches that might be loose, such as your turning crocheted chains at the ends of your rows. You can use the yarn ends to join the turning chain, to your first crocheted stitch.

After you’ve used up a couple of inches of your yarn end, then you take your scissors and cut the remainder of the yarn as close to your crocheted or knitted work as possible. At this point, you want to be careful not to actually cut into the knitted or crocheted stitches themselves. One of your yarn ends is now woven in.

In crocheting, another method people often use, is to lay five or six inches of their beginning yarn end, over the tops of the crocheted stitches from the previously worked row.

You insert your crochet hook, into the first stitch of the next row you’re starting to work. You make your crochet stitch through the loops of the stitch from the row below, as you normally would. Doing it this way, your new crocheted stitch is formed right over the yarn end, encompassing it within your stitch. You can crochet right over the whole 5 or 6 inch length of the yarn end, or stop when you have a small amount left, and then cut off the excess yarn end with your scissors.

If you’re using this method, when you’ve made a color change however, sometimes the new color of that yarn end might peak through the other color, in an area where you don’t want it to be visible. This might tend to happen where the new color you’re using is much lighter then the previous one was.

A third method I’ve seen people use is to crochet the majority of that yarn end into the wrong side of their work. You grab the yarn with your hook and pull it through your previously crocheted stitches that are the same color as your yarn end. Some people might incorporate a slip stitch or a single crochet stitch with this method. You don’t want to go much higher then a single crochet stitch as this could add more weight, bulk, or height to your item, in places where you don’t want that to appear.

Using any of these methods is easy to do. Different types of projects might be better suited to different methods. I’m not going to be as fussy, weaving in my yarn ends into the wrong side of a stuffed animal, as I would be with a hand made sweater. The yarn end in my stuffed animal will be hidden on the inside when I add the stuffing to it.

On a sweater, you don’t want the woven yarn ends to appear through the right side of your crocheted or knitted work, or have those ends diminish the look of your stitches. You want to weave your yarn ends into a small area, so it blends into your work, and does not appear visible. Since weaving in your yarn ends is usually part of the finishing process of your work, you want those finishing touches, to look as nice as the efforts you’ve put into making your knitted or crocheted hand made item.