How To Weave In the Ends Of Yarn Tails In Knitted Fabric

Technique Tuesday – Weaving In the Ends On Your Knitting Projects

12/23/2014

Technique Tuesday - Step-by-step crochet and knitting photo tutorials by Shibaguyz Designz

How To Weave In the Ends Of Yarn Tails On Your Knitting Projects

Technique
Weaving in the ends on your knitting projects.

What is it?
At the end of projects and anywhere a new length of yarn is joined, there is a tail of yarn remaining that must woven in. This instruction is often at the end of a pattern written as: Weave in ends.

Weaving in the end of a tail of yarn secures the yarn tail so it does not come unraveled and hides the tail so it cannot be seen.

Technique Tuesday - A free step-by-step photo tutorial for How To Weave In the Ends Of Yarn Tails In Knit Fabric by Shibaguyz Designz

Why Use It?
Whether at the end of a project or at a yarn join in the middle of a project, the tail must be woven in to prevent the stitches from unraveling. Weaving the tail in securely prevents that tail from slipping out and causing a hole down the line.

We have worked quite a few repair jobs where a family heirloom blanket or garment looks moth eaten in spots because of holes. In just about every case, the holes were caused by a tail slipping out and stitches coming undone as a result.

To Work Today's Tutorial
Here's a list of materials we used to make the swatch for today's Weaving In the Ends tutorial. While you can, of course, use any materials you have on hand, these materials listed are what we recommend you use while you are learning.

Yarn Used
CYCA 4
Worsted Weight, 100% Pure Wool

Hook Used
H-8/5.00mm Crochet Hook

Tools
Yarn Needle

Break It Down
For today's tutorial, we are primarily using a swatch of stockinette stitches but the principle remains the same regardless of the stitch pattern: Follow the outline.

Whether you are weaving in ends on a lace swatch or a solid panel of stockinette stitches, if you weave in your ends by following the outline of the stitches, you'll have an invisible result.

Before we get started, let's cover a couple of important points that will make your life a whole heck of a lot easier when it comes to weaving in ends of your yarn tails on your knitted fabrics:
1. Whenever possible, start a new yarn at the end of a row. Now, that said, there are times when that just isn't going to happen. If you are doing colorwork of any kind or if you have a really long row and don't want to cut off that much of a precious yarn, then you just aren't going to always end up with your tails at the end of a row. However, if at all possible, start a new yarn at the end of a row.

2. Always block your fabrics before weaving in the ends. This gives you the true gauge of the finished fabric and allows you to weave in your ends with the finished tension of your fabric. If you weave in the ends before blocking, those ends could pop out a bit when you block the fabric into the final dimensions for your project.

Selvedge Edge Weave
First, we are going to show you how we weave in a tail that in a selvedge border. In this example, we have a swatch of cabled fabric with a knit 1 selvedge stitch at the beginning and end of every row.

1. Thread the Needle – You're going to need a yarn needle for weaving in your ends. We have a dozen or more of these scattered about in various places and in every project bag. Pretty much every time we are at our LYS, we grab a few more… just in case…

The tail here is in a lighter colored yarn so it is easier to see and we've left the tail a LITTLE longer than necessary. Always better safe than sorry.

Technique Tuesday - A free step-by-step photo tutorial for How To Weave In the Ends Of Yarn Tails In Knitted Fabric by Shibaguyz Designz

2. Turn the work so the back side of your fabric is facing you.

3. Insert your yarn needle from top to bottom under the purl bump of the selvedge row. These are the horizontal loops of the stitches you see across our yarn needle here. Since this is a garter stitch selvedge where we have knitted the first and last stitch of every row, from this side of the fabric, those purl bumps show up every other row.

NOTE: A good rule of thumb when working this step is to run the yarn tail along these stitches for about 1.5 to 2 inches. Conveniently, that is the length of MOST yarn needles!

4. And pull your yarn tail through those loops and gently pull the yarn snug being careful not to pull tighter than the tension of your blocked fabric.

5. Now, insert your needle from bottom to top under the purl bumps RIGHT NEXT TO the purl bumps you just worked through.

6. And, pull your yarn tail through those loops and gently pull the yarn snug to match the tension of your blocked fabric.

7. Here is a photo of the front side of that same swatch with the tail woven in. Even using a white yarn as a demo against the red yarn of the swatch, you can see how the tail just disappears into the fabric. If we weren't using a lighter colored for demonstration purposes, you wouldn't be able to tell where the tail was without REALLY looking for it.

Duplicate Stitch
This technique for weaving in knitted ends is worked from the front side of the fabric and follows the exact path of a knitted stitch. We are demonstrating on a swatch of stockinette stitch but the principle is the same no matter what stitch you are using… Follow the outline of your stitch.

This technique works whether the end you are weaving in is at the end of a row or in the middle of a row. We will be demonstrating the end being woven in from the middle of a row but, again, the principle is the same… follow the outline of the stitch.

1. Front view of the swatch of stockinette stitch. The tail is not visible right now because it is on the back of the fabric.

2. Using your yarn needle, pull the yarn tail from the back of the work to the front of the work DIRECTLY BETWEEN the bars of the V of the knit stitch. If you see a knit stitch as a heart shape, you are bringing the needle up through the center of the heart. If you think of the two loops of a knit stitch as "legs," bring the needle up directly between the left and right legs of the knit stitch.

Oh… again, using lighter colored yarn here for the tail to make the technique easier to see.

3. Now insert your yarn needle from right to left UNDER the two legs of the knit stitch two rows ABOVE the stitch you brought the tail through. Great close-up photo here for reference.

4. And pull the tail through snugging up the yarn so the first leg of the knit stitch is covered with the tail. See… you are following the outline of the stitch DUPLICATING the path the yarn follows to make that stitch. Thus the name Duplicate Stitch!

5. Next, insert your yarn needle from front to back through the same hole where you originally brought the tail to the front of your work. Yup… put it right back where it came from.

6. Pull the yarn tail snug matching the tension of your blocked stitches and… LOOK AT THAT!! A neat, tidy, clean, totally invisible (if you are using the same color of yarn) Duplicate Stitch!

Let's work the next stitch as well to really lock in the yarn tail… don't want anything coming undone!

7. Again, insert your needle from back to front between the legs of the next knit stitch immediately to the left of the stitch you just went back in to.

8. And pull the tail through so it is on the front of your work.

9. Just like before, insert your yarn needle from right to left UNDER the two legs of the knit stitch two rows ABOVE the stitch you brought the tail through. Another great close-up photo here for reference.

10. Pull the yarn snug to match the tension of your blocked fabric and you can see you have now covered or duplicated the first leg of the next knit stitch!

11. And, again, insert your yarn needle from front to back through the same hole where you originally brought the tail to the front of your work. Yup… put it right back where it came from.

12. Pull the yarn tail snug matching the tension of your blocked stitches and there you have TWO woven in ends! Also, we do have to admit this Duplicate Stitch technique does look like little hearts when worked in a contrasting color of yarn.

NOTE: While the Duplicate Stitch technique can be used to weave in yarn tails, this is also a FAB way to make colorwork on your knitted fabrics without actually changing yarns in the middle of a row or carrying yarn floats. This is the way I learned from my grandmother to make names and "draw on" knitted fabrics. But that's a tutorial for another day…

13. Here is what the Duplicate Stitch technique looks like from the back of your work. Just FYI…

Invisible Purl Bump Weave
And now we come to our absolute FAB FAV technique for weaving in yarn tails on knitted fabric. This technique is COMPLETELY invisible from the front of the work as you will see here in just a minute.

Again, we will be demonstrating with a lighter colored yarn to make the steps easier to see.

1. Here is the back of a blocked swatch of stockinette stitches. This is the side with all of the purl bumps on it… thus the name of this technique!

2. In this case, our yarn tail is already on the back of the knitted fabric so thread your needle and let's get to it!

3. Again, we are following the outline of the stitches but we are now following BEHIND those stitches. Whereas in the Duplicate Stitch technique, we were weaving the yarn tail over the FRONT of the stitches, with the Invisible Purl Bump Weave we are weaving the tail BEHIND those same stitches. It takes a little more concentration since we can't actually see the entire stitch we are following, but follow along with the photos and you will get this technique down in no time!

Insert your needle from bottom to top through the purl bump above and to the immediate right of the stitch where your tail comes from.

At the same time, insert your needle through the purl bump one row above the stitch where your tail comes from.

If that sounds confusing, follow along on the photo and you will see EXACTLY where you insert your needle.

4. Pull the yarn tail through and snug the yarn carefully to the match the tension of your blocked fabric. Note here that you have duplicated one purl bump as shown here by the one horizontal white loop.

5. Next, insert your yarn needle from top to bottom through the purl bump to the right of the purl bump you just came out of AND back through the purl bump below and just to the left. You are going directly back to where you came from.

6. Snug the yarn tail to match the tension of the blocked fabric.

Do you see it now? You have followed the path of the knitted stitch but you have done if from the back side of your work so that your yarn tail is behind the knitted stitch. LOVE IT!

7. Next, repeat the entire process inserting your hook from bottom to top through the purl bump above and immediately to the right of the stitch where the yarn tail comes out AND through the purl bump one row above the stitch where your tail comes from.

Once again, if that sounds confusing, follow along on the photo and you will see EXACTLY where you insert your needle.

8. Pull the yarn snug to match the tension of your blocked fabric. Note that you now have duplicated three purl bumps as shown here with the three horizontal lighter colored loops.

9. Next, insert your yarn needle from top to bottom through the purl bump to the right of the purl bump you just came out of AND back through the purl bump below and just to the left. You are going directly back to where you came from.

10. And pull the yarn tail snug to match the tension of the blocked fabric. You now have a total of four duplicated purl bumps seen here as four horizontal lighter colored loops.

11. And here is the front of that fabric. INVISIBLE!! Yup… even the lighter colored yarn is completely invisible because we worked the duplicate stitch behind the outline of the knit stitch rather than in front of it.

12. Yarn needle pointing out the stitches the lighter colored yarn is behind. Completely invisible!!

TAADAA!!

NOTE: For these tutorials, we only wove in one tail in one direction. If you have changed yarn in the middle of a row, you will need to twist the two tails around each other to close the gap then weave them in opposite directions. The process is exactly the same, just working in the opposite direction. We will cover this more completely in a future tutorial on changing colors or adding yarn in the middle of a row of knitted fabrics.

A Final Word… Or Two…
The key to weaving in the tails of your yarn in ANY knitted fabric is to use your yarn needle to follow the outline of the stitches. Yes, if there are a lot of tails to weave in, it can take a little while. But, hey, it's all part of the making process. You can't cook without washing some dishes and you can crochet or knit without weaving in at least the starting and ending tails. Enjoy the process! And practice! The more you do this, the better you will become and soon weaving in ends will just be another step in your process to making the most beautiful handmade projects you possibly can.

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Stitch On!
S&J

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