Many stitch patterns show off knit stitches on the right side of the fabric. So when it is time to weave in yarn tails, we do it among the purl stitches on the wrong side of the project.
It is not difficult to hide the tails inside the purl “bumps”. We can do it in any way we like and the tails will be lost in the uneven texture of the fabric.
But when we use reverse stockinette stitch, a reverse stockinette background for cables and other design elements, or any type of ribbing, we need to hide the tails on the side of the fabric that is made up of knits. This complicates the task of weaving in ends quite a bit.
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To make sure each tail we hide blends in with the knit stitches almost invisibly, we have to follow the structure of the fabric. Here’s how we do it step by step.
Because knit stitches form columns, we’ll weave in ends vertically. For best results, do not go against the natural slant of a yarn tail and hide each tail within a column of knit stitches that is the closest to that tail.
For example, one tail in my swatch is naturally leaning to the right, while the other one leans to the left.
I am not going to fight those tails because I want to hide them as invisibly as possible. That’s why I will weave in the tail leaning to the right within the column of knit stitches at the right side of the yarn join, and the tail leaning to the left within the column of knit stitches at the left side.
This concept is especially important if you prefer to undo the knot before you weave in the yarn tails, because if we do not follow the natural inclination of the strands, we will end up with a glaring hole right in the middle of our project.
Now that we discussed the ground rules, let’s get to the actual process of hiding the tails.
First, place the project so that the cast on edge is closer to you, and insert one yarn tail into a wool needle. To make it easier for you to see how this method works, I will use a yarn tail in a contrasting colour.
IF THE YARN TAIL IS LEANING TO THE RIGHT
STEP 1
Insert the wool needle from left to right under the left leg of a stitch that is at the right side of the yarn tail.
STEP 2
Insert the wool needle from left to right under the left leg of a stitch that is right above the stitch that we entered in the previous step.
Repeat until you run the wool needle through the left legs of three to five stitches.
Pull the yarn through, then pull the fabric along the direction of knitting to make sure the tail does not constrain the fabric.
STEP 3
Rotate the fabric and insert the wool needle from right to left under the other leg of the last stitch that we entered in the previous step.
STEP 4
Insert the wool needle from right to left under the leg of a stitch that is above the stitch that we entered in the previous step.
Repeat until you run the wool needle through three to five stitches.
Pull the yarn through, then pull the fabric along the direction of knitting to make sure the tail is long enough to accommodate the stretch of the fabric.
STEP 5
Cut the yarn leaving a tiny tail (around 1 cm / 3/8″ long). If the yarn is slippery, leave a longer tail to make sure it does not transfer to the right side of the fabric as you start to wear this project.
IF THE YARN TAIL IS LEANING TO THE LEFT
We’ll follow a mirror version of the same steps that we preformed when we were hiding a tail leaning to the right.
STEP 1
Insert the wool needle with a tail in it from right to left under the right leg of a stitch that is at the left side of the yarn tail.
STEP 2
Then insert the wool needle from right to left under the right leg of a stitch that is right above the stitch we entered in the previous step.
Repeat until you run the wool needle through the right legs of three to five stitches.
Pull the yarn through, then pull the fabric along the direction of knitting to make sure the tail does not constrain the fabric.
STEP 3
Rotate the fabric and insert the wool needle from left to right under the other leg of the last stitch that we entered in the previous step.
STEP 4
Insert the wool needle from left to right under the leg of a stitch that is above the stitch that we entered in the previous step.
Repeat until you run the wool needle through three to five stitches.
Pull the yarn through, then pull the fabric along the direction of knitting to make sure the tail does not constrain the fabric.
STEP 5
Cut the yarn leaving a tiny tail (around 1 cm / 3/8″ long), or a longer tail if the yarn is slippery.
Because I used yarn tails in a contrasting colour, the place where the tails are hidden is visible. But when the tails are in the same colour as the project, they blend in with the knit stitches almost perfectly.
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Aside from a slightly thicker texture and two yarn nubs sticking out in spots where we cut the yarn tails, nothing reveals the “hiding place” on the knit side of the fabric. As to the purl side, the tails are completely invisible.
If you cut the yarn close to the fabric after you weave in each tail, you can easily use this method to hide tails in reversible projects, like scarves, shawls and blankets. A shorter tail is more likely to sneak to the other side of the fabric, but because it is so small it won’t affect the overall look of your beautiful knitted creation.
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This and 31 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #8.
