Finishing Workshop: Weaving in Ends

One little thing that can trip people up when they’re finishing a knit item is how to weave in the ends. I guess that’s because there’s no universally approved right way to do it (as with so much else in knitting) and if you don’t do it well it can be a real irritant when you wear or use a garment.

Trust me on this one: I have a cowl I wear all the time that has a loose end sticking out. But do I fix it? No, I just let it annoy me every. single. time. I put it on and make sure I wear it to the back where no one will see it. I think I just added another “finishing” chore to my list!

I will admit to being a rather haphazard end-weaver. I like to hide them in seams when I can, or behind the floats in colorwork. But I can’t say I really have a style of weaving in ends.

I am trying to do more of the diagonal weave that’s explained in this piece from Knitting Daily. Basically you work diagonally in one direction, then turn and work back diagonally again. This does seem to really help to secure the ends, and it’s even better if you block the item afterward so those ends get even more locked in place.

Do you have a method for weaving in ends? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo via Knitting Daily.]

Next Pattern:

I can’t resist a pattern that’s both useful and a little silly, and that’s exactly how I feel about the Rybka pouch pattern from the delightfully named Rat and Sea Witch.

I know you’re going to ask, because I did, too. Rybka means little fish in Polish. (And because you’re also probably going to ask, Rat and Sea Witch comes from people’s attempts to say the designer’s name, Ratasiewicz, which if you say it fast kind of sounds like rat and sea witch.)

It’s easy to make a little fish bag in different sizes to suit your needs. The pattern has specific instructions for an Airpods Pro case and a pencil case, but you could change the length easily to hold more stuff, and change the size in general by working with a different weight of yarn.

The pattern calls for sock yarn and mohair held together to make a fingering weight gauge, but you could try it with heavier yarn and see what size bag you end up with.

Whatever size you make it, this looks like a fun project for holding trinkets or everyday items. The mouth of the fish is the mouth of the bag, and it closes with a drawstring that is also the strap. I wonder, too, if you could make one of these with a small clasp frame that could be the fish’s mouth and then you could just work I cord straps that would attach to the sides of the fish.

I could also see stripes, or fish of different colors to use up your yarn leftovers. How about a sunglasses case with a little loop to attach to your bag? Once you start thinking about all the ways you could use a fish-shaped bag in your life, I think you’ll see that you probably need more than one.

If you make one of these I would love to know how it went!

You can grab a copy of the pattern on Ravelry.

[Photo: Rat and Sea Witch]

Next Pattern:

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