Knitty Bitz

When knitting, try to remember to:

• Leave approximately six inches of yarn anywhere you will need to wear in ends.

• To plan where your ends will go.  Wherever possible, start a new ball of yarn at the edge of your work.  Avoid placing a thread that needs to be woven in a conspicuous/uncomfortable place, i.e. the bottom of a sock.

The Aim

• To hide the ends of the yarn so they are not visible on the right side of your work.

• To prevent the yarn from unravelling.

• To give your garment a professional finish.

Methods

There are many different methods of weaving in ends, but the following are two of the more popular ways:

• 1. Thread your needle and work the yarn through some of the stitches on the wrong side of the garment.  Working through purl loops means that the loops hide the extra yarn well.  You can either work straight across the row or weave the yarn end diagonally up for a few rows and then back parallel to the first row.  Some people work straight up or down, staying close to the edge of the piece or work a few stitches straight across and then move up or down into the next row and work a few more stitches.

• 2. Duplicate Stitching:  In this method the yarn is stitched onto the work in exactly the same pattern that was used to knit the garment - duplicating the knit or purl stitches.  This makes a strong, invisible weave, although does not work well with all patterns and is best used with double knit yarns or thinner.

Useful Tips

• When working on a large project with lots of stripes, weave the ends in as you go along.

• Check the right side of your garment as you go along to ensure that ends are not poking through to the right side.

• When working on a scarf, make the woven in ends as inconspicuous as possible, ideally weaving them in at the edge of the work.