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How to Weave in Yarn Ends Like a Pro

Crafting is a labor of love. We spend lots of time choosing the perfect pattern and then knitting, crocheting or even weaving a project. Once we’ve finished crafting, all that’s left is the “finishing work” which includes weaving in ends and blocking. Some crafters dread weaving in ends, but today we’ll give you our top tips and tricks for weaving in ends and putting the perfect finish on all your projects!

To weave in ends, you will need a wool needle (sometimes called a yarn or tapestry needle) of appropriate size for your yarn, and a pair of sharp scissors. Good lighting helps, too!
 

For the purposes of today’s tutorial, we’re using a contrasting color of yarn so you can follow the steps easily—obviously, you’ll be using the same yarn as in your project so your finishes will blend into your piece. In general, we like to weave our ends in before blocking, but we wait to trim the ends until after the piece is blocked. This allows you to do your finishing work as you finish your crafting, but also allows the fabric to stretch and adjust during blocking. If you trim your ends before you block, be sure that you have woven in your ends through enough stitches, and allowed enough give that your ends won’t pull out when the garment is stretched.

Knitting: Garter Stitch Finishes


To weave in ends in a garter stitch project, use the following steps.

Step 1: Thread your needle with your tail. On the wrong side of your work, insert the needle up through the first stitch. Pull yarn through so the stitch is snug, but not too tight, allowing for some stretch.
 

Step 2: Now you will follow the loop on top of the stitch and insert the needle down through the next stitch in the same row.


Step 3: Now comes the tricky part: even though your garter ridges look like they could be woven together, there is actually a row of knit stitches in between.

Separate the ridges so you can see the channel in between, and insert your needle under both legs of the next stitch. If you look closely, you will see that you’re following a single strand of yarn through the stitches on the current row.


Repeat Steps 1-3 several more times; we like to do this sequence a minimum of 4-6 times to ensure a secure finish. When you are done, your project will look like this:
 

Again, you want to be sure that your yarn is pulled through securely, without a lot of slack. However, be sure that you haven’t pulled too tightly and that your work can lay flat and relaxed.

Now, if you look at the right side of your work, you will see that despite the obvious duplicate stitches on the wrong side of your work, there is only a little glimpse of the blue on the front of the work:


When you are using matching yarn in your projects, this little line will fade into the channel between garter ridges!

Knitting: Stockinette Stitch Finishes


To weave in ends on a stockinette stitch project, you will use the following steps.

Step 1: Thread your needle with your tail. On the wrong side of your work, insert the needle diagonally up through two stitches. Pull yarn through so the stitch is snug, but not too tight, allowing for some stretch.

Step 2: Now you will follow the loop on top of the top most stitch and insert the needle diagonally down through the next two stitches in the same row.


Now you will follow the loop under the bottom most stitch, and repeat Step 1 again. Continue repeating Steps 1 and 2 several more times; we like to do this a minimum 4 to 6 times to ensure a secure finish. When you are finished, the wrong side of your project will look like this:
 

On the right side, the duplicate stitch finish is completely invisible—just like magic!


And that’s all there is to weaving in ends using duplicate stitch!

Crochet: Two Methods to Weave in Ends

The two easiest ways to weave in yarn ends on a crochet project are weaving in the ends through the stitches, or using whipstitch. You may even want to use a combination of these techniques, depending on the stitch pattern you've used! For either technique, you will want to use the same color of yarn as used in your project (we're using a contrast color so that you can better see the techniques) and work on the wrong side of the fabric.


To weave in yarn ends through the stitches, you will work in multiple directions to best secure the ends. That means that you can work diagonally and vertically, running your needle through groups of stitches at a time.

To whip stitch your yarn ends, use the darning needle to loop around one half of the chain stitch that each stitch is worked in like so:


In our example, we have combined both of these techniques to secure the yarn:


We hope these tips help you achieve the perfect finish to every project. We also recommend bookmarking or saving this post on Pinterest to save it for later. We look forward to seeing your finished projects—please share them on social media using the #knitterspride hashtag!

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Spring Charity KCAL & Warm Feet, Warm Heart Socks by Mone Dräger [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Our first Charity Craft-along for 2020 is here! This spring, we invite all of our fans to make socks for those in need. These portable projects are perfect for changing seasons, and we've teamed up with designer Mone Dräger to bring you a new FREE pattern to knit during our Spring Charity Craft-along!

About Our Featured Designer

Mone lives in a village in Germany and loves to craft and be creative. She can’t imagine a day without knitting and enjoys playing around with colors and stitch patterns. She has a special fancy for knitted accessories, above all socks.  If you'd like to learn more about Mone and her designs, follow her blog or connect with her on FacebookInstagram or Ravelry.

Free Knitting Pattern: Warm Feet, Warm Heart Socks by Mone Dräger 

A couple of years back, with her sock drawer constantly overflowing, she started to donate socks to various charities and was baffled to learn how big the need for socks is. Her sock design ‘Warm Feet, Warm Heart’ was designed especially for charity knitting, having unknown recipients in mind. Knitted almost entirely in ribbing patterns with an integrated heel, the socks have sufficient elasticity to fit differently shaped feet and even accommodate to the needs of people with swollen ankles.


Please note, you will be subscribed to the Knitter's Pride newsletter; if you already get our emails, simply enter your address to confirm and download the pattern.


More Sock Patterns

Mone has many more sock patterns for you to enjoy, and has created a special deal for our blog readers this spring! Get 25% off all individual sock patterns* by entering Warm Feet KAL (three words with spaces between and in capital letters as written here) at checkout. This coupon code is valid now through Friday, March 27, 2020.

*sock pattern collections not eligible for this discount

How to Participate

  • Knit or crochet ANY sock pattern during the course of this KCAL, which takes place Friday, March 13, 2020 through Friday, May 1, 2020. 

  • Share your finished sock photos here in our Ravelry group, or post them on Facebook or Instagram using the #knitterspride and #KPCharityKCAL hashtags to be entered in our prize drawing (more on that in a moment!).

  • Donate your socks to someone in need! If you need a few suggestions, try checking with local organizations such as hospitals, shelters or hospices, or you can send your donations to Wool Aid, where they will be given to those who need them most. 

Spring Charity KCAL Prizes

We have 3 great prizes up for grabs: a Ginger DPN Set, a Waves Crochet Set, and a Large Navy Pattern Holder

ANY pair of socks finished between March 13, 2020 - May 1, 2020 will be eligible in our prize drawing. We will randomly select our 3 lucky winners from those who have shared their finished sock projects here in our Ravelry group, or on Facebook or Instagram using the #KPCharityKCAL hashtag. We will notify the winners via direct message after May 1. 

We can't wait to see all of your knitted and crocheted socks! 

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