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.]

When I discovered Kate Atherley’s book Circular Knitting for Beginners and Beyond, I wasn’t sure there was enough to say about circular knitting to fill a book. It’s a pretty short book (144 pages) and includes 10 patterns to practice working in the round on small projects, and it provides a decent introduction to the various ways of working in the round.

The book covers using double pointed knitting needles, flexible double points and circular knitting needles with cables. It talks about working using the full circumference of a circular needle and various ways to work smaller circumference projects, such as using DPNs, magic loop and knitting with two circular knitting needles.

In addition there’s a discussion of preventing problems like twists and ladders, swatching in the round without actually swatching in the round, grafting, blocking and weaving in ends.

More specialized techniques likes knitting from the center out, stranded colorwork, helical knitting and jogless stripes are also explored, as well as working pieces like socks or mitts two at a time.

There’s also some information about seamless sweaters, including the different sweater designs that can be worked seamlessly (and why you might want seams in your sweaters) and how they are worked from the top down or the bottom up.

There are 10 patterns in the book, including a basic stockinette stitch cowl and one with a deliberate twist, wrist warmers, mitts and a pair of colorwork mittens, a hat worked in a solid color or in helical stripes, toe up and top down socks and a beret. It would have been nice to have a basic sweater pattern, too, since the book does talk about working larger garments with circular needles, but it’s still a nice collection of basic patterns worked in the round.

If you’re already comfortable working in the round in different ways, I’m not sure there’s much for you to learn in this book, but it is a good reference for people learning circular knitting or who maybe haven’t tried all the techniques yet or need skill building projects to try.

About the book: 144 pages, paperback, 10 patterns. Published 2026 by David & Charles. Suggested retail price $24.99.

Have you read?