Weaving in lots of yarn tails when a project is finished is no fun. No fun at all. Very few knitters like this task.
It’s hard to like this tedious and often time-consuming process when you are excited to put your new sweater on, or to gift a cute colourful baby blanket to the expectant family.
Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid yarn tails, especially when we work in a colour pattern.
But we can avoid the overwhelming task of weaving in lots of tails if we hide them one by one as soon as they appear.
The simple way I’ll share with you in this tutorial works well with any project knitted in any stitch pattern using any knitting style – English, Continental, or Eastern (also known as Combined or Russian).
This method is perfect for attaching yarn in the same colour and attaching yarn in a different colour.
The second scenario is a bit more complicated because we want to make sure colours don’t show through the fabric. This is why this tutorial focuses on managing tails in different colours.
Here’s how we can weave in yarn tails without using a wool needle right when those tails are created.
STEP 1
When it is time to change the colour, take the strand in the new colour, leave a tail around 15 cm (6″) long, and use that strand to work the first stitch in the new colour (let’s call it colour B).
There is no need to cut the yarn in the previous colour (colour A) just yet. We’ll do it a bit later.Â
STEP 2
Pull the yarn in colour A to make sure the last stitch worked in this colour is not too loose.
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STEP 3
Take the strand in colour A and the working yarn in colour B, and twist them to the left at the wrong side of the work.
STEP 4
Now take the working yarn and work the next stitch according to your pattern.
My swatch is worked in plain stockinette stitch, so I knitted the next stitch.
STEP 5
Bring both strands to the wrong side of the work, and then twist them to the right.
STEP 6
Let go of the strand in colour A, and work the next stitch with the working yarn in colour B.
Repeat steps 3 – 6 until you knit six to ten stitches.
The number of stitches depends on the yarn you are using. If the yarn is slippery, work more stitches. If you knit with wool, six stitches will be enough to keep the tail safely hidden.
Now we can cut the yarn in colour A, leaving a stub around 1 cm / 0.5″ long.
It is fine to trim the tail shorter, but I prefer to leave it a bit longer to make sure the tail we’ve just hidden doesn’t unravel over time.
That’s it – one of the tails is hidden. The only tail we have left is the one in colour B. We’ll deal with in it the next right-side row.
Finish this row and work all stitches in the next row.
When you get to the next right-side row, hide the other tail.Â
STEP 1A
Work the first stitch in this row, using the working yarn.
STEP 2A
Pull the tail to adjust the size of the first stitch worked with this yarn.
STEP 3A
Move the tail and the working yarn to the wrong side of the work, and twist them to the left.
STEP 4A
Let go of the tail and work the next stitch, using the working yarn.
Be careful not to knit with the tail!
STEP 5A
Twist the working yarn and the tail again at the wrong side of the work, but this time, twist them to the right.
STEP 6A
Work the next stitch.
Repeat steps 3A – 6A until you knit six to ten stitches (depending on how slippery the yarn is).
Then trim the tail and you are done. Both tails are safely hidden without adding extra bulk to the project.Â
Because we first wove in the tail in colour A, and then (two rows later) the tail in colour B, the colours don’t show on the right side of the work, and you can hardly see the tails even on the wrong side.
If you use this method to weave in tails as you work on a project, there will be only one tail to hide once the project is finished – the tail that appeared after you bound off all stitches and cut the yarn.
SAVE FOR LATER
This and 47 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #2.
