If you are looking for a simple way to join yarn in your knitting project and do it without making a knot, without adding bulk, and without leaving yarn tails to weave in, you came to the right place.
This tutorial shows not only how we can make this clean join, but also how we can place it exactly where we want it to be.
It means that we can use this method to attach a new ball of yarn in the same colour and to join yarn in a different colour when we make a colourful project.
We can use this method when we work back and forth and when we knit in the round.
The join is fully invisible on the right side of the fabric, so we can use this trick to join yarn even in the middle of a row or round without worrying that the join will show.
This wonderful way to join yarn is so secure that it works well for all types of yarn, even slippery ones like rayon and silk.
I came up with this technique when I was trying to improve the well-known clasped weft join. Even though the method described in this tutorial has elements of several other ways to join yarn, we can probably call it the Improved Clasped Weft Join, or a Clean Yarn Join, to keep things simple.
WATCH EVERY STEP IN THIS VIDEO TUTORIAL
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Here’s how it works step by step.
STEP 1
When you get to a spot that is three stitches away from the place where you want the join to be, move the working yarn to the back of the work.
To make it easy for you to see the place of a future join, I marked it with a locking stitch marker on my swatch.
Fold the working yarn to make a long loop with the yarn tail sitting on top of the working yarn close to the bottom of the first stitch on the right needle.
This loop should be at least 3 times as long as the distance to the future join.
STEP 2
Pick up the working yarn from underneath the yarn tail and work the next stitch.
If it is a purl stitch, bring the working yarn to the front of the work, purl this stitch, and move the yarn to the back of the work.
If it is a knit, knit this stitch and keep the yarn at the back of the work.
STEP 3
With the yarn at the back of the work, twist the loop to the left until the working yarn is underneath the yarn tail.
If you are not sure which of the strands is the working yarn, look for the one that is connected to the first stitch on the right needle (the stitch you worked in the previous step).
It is very important not to mix up the strands and work stitches only with the working yarn, not the yarn tail.
STEP 4
Repeat steps 2 and 3 two more times – pick up the working yarn (make sure it’s not the tail!) and work the first stitch on the left needle, then twist the loop at the back of the work.
Do it twice until you work the last stitch before the planned place of join. Don’t twist the loop after that.
STEP 5
The loop is now much smaller, but it is still big enough for us to insert the strand of yarn that we want to join to the working yarn. That’s exactly what we do in this step.
The way we insert the new strand into the loop is not important. We can do it from back to front or from front to back.
No matter how you choose to do it, make sure you leave a tail that is around 15 cm / 6″ long.
STEP 6
This step is the most fun.
Because we were so careful not to use the yarn tail to work the stitches, we can now simply pull the end of the yarn tail, and it will close the loop completely.
Now the join is exactly where we need it, and it is perfectly invisible – no knot and no bulky double-stranded stitches.
I will remove the stitch marker from the work to keep it from getting in the way.
STEP 7
Use the “new” strand to work one stitch.
If it is a purl stitch, bring the yarn to the front of the work, purl that stitch, and move the strand to the back.
If the first stitch on the left needle should be knitted, knit it and keep the yarn at the back of the work.
STEP 8
Twist the new working yarn and the tail. Just as we did in step 3, twist them to the left until the working yarn is underneath the yarn tail.
STEP 9
Repeat steps 7 and 8 two more times.
We’ve got our wish – the yarn join is invisible, it is placed exactly where it should be, there is no knot and no bulky stitches. The only thing left to do is get rid of the yarn tails.
We can trim them right away, but because they are still too close to the needles, it is hard to make sure the tails don’t get out from their hiding spot.
STEP 10
Work a few rows or rounds. Even two rows are enough.
Now that we have more fabric between the yarn tails and the needles, we can pull the fabric sideways to let the tails take as much space as they need.
Now we can trim those tails, knowing that they are long enough to stay in their hiding spots even when the fabric gets stretched.
To be on the safe side, don’t trim the tails too close to the fabric. Leave small stubs, especially if the yarn is slippery.
You can also trim the tails later, after the project is finished. It is up to you.
WATCH EVERY STEP IN THE VIDEO TUTORIAL:
This is how we can attach any yarn in any colour in any knitting project with an invisible join placed precisely where we need it, without making a knot, adding bulk, and leaving yarn tails to weave in. It doesn’t get any better than this.
This is the Clean Yarn Join – a simple solution to any situation when we need to join a new ball of yarn.
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