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I Now Pronounce You….. Yarn and Yarn… or How To Join Yarns

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We’ve all done it. Don’t even try to deny it. Happily knitting along and

WHAM!! Yarn! Gone!

What to do, what to do. Well, in keeping with the Valentine’s theme this week, we’re going to learn how to marry yarns together. And you thought only people could get married?

So, you’ve run out of yarn. You could frog back to the beginning of the row and add in a new skein there, or you could join the yarn where it meets, eliminating both the visit to the frog pond and also weaving in ends later.
There are quite a few ways to join yarns.
If it’s at least 75% wool, you can do what’s called a “spit splice” (easier to do than it is to say!). Just pull the ends apart so they are wispy, lay the two yarn ends side by side going in opposite directions, spit in your hand and rub your hands together vigourously until the heat and friction felt the ends together. (I personally, although a farmer and used to yucky stuff, find this disgusting, but I always have a water bottle handy anyway, perfect substitution!)
You could do a Russian Join, where you loop the ends over each other and then, using a needle, thread the ends back into the yarn, pulling it tight. Hard to explain without pictures or a video, so go here:

http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knitting-tips.

Tess Knits also has a pretty good page explaning different yarn joins.

Do a Google search for “joining yarns” (I do loves me my Google!) and you’ll get hundreds of websites all just chomping at the bit to show you how to do this most wonderful, easy technique.

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Comments

  1. I hate the spit splice as well. I can’t ever get mine to work (even on 100% wool – not superwash). I *love* the Russian join and it’s all I’ve used ever since learning it!

Have you read?

Summer T-Shirt Knitting Patterns

Knitters are always looking for ways to continue to knit and to wear their knits even when it’s hot outside, so there are tots of great T0shirt knitting patterns to choose from. I love knitting short-sleeved shirts because they feel so much faster than sweaters, and you can wear them on top of dresses or even longer-sleeved items when it gets cooler.

There are lots of different styles of knit tops, from the basic to the more detailed. On the more basic side are things like the Perfect T-Shirt from Originally Lovely, a basic raglan tee with nine sizes and worked in worsted weight yarn; Paper Bloom by Yvonne Hugo (free on Ravelry), available in six sizes and worked with cotton and silk yarn for extra coolness; or Iris H’s Amelia Top, also on Ravelry, a slim fit, DK weight top with nine size.

Jazz it up with a bit of lace like on the Athens Lace Hem top by Sarah Hatton (Ravelry). This otherwise simple project has a bit of lace at the bottom, which is an easy way to make a project more interesting without a ton of work. This one uses fingering weight yarn and comes in nine sizes.

Another simple embellishment is to emphasize the lines of your top with different stitches. The Spring Lines top uses twisted ribbing at the center front and V-neck and along the raglan lines to give it a slimmer fit and more interest. This design from Turquoise Toque Designs has 11 size options and is available on Ravelry.

Silfurberg by Joji Locatelli uses both of these elements, with lace panels at the center front and back and purl ridges throughout to make it a little more fun to knit and to wear. The pattern uses fingering weight yarn and comes in 10 sizes. Learn more on Ravelry.

Keep it simple or add puffed sleeves (and/or long sleeves) to the slim fit Knitty Committee top by Lily Kate France. This one has two length options, waist shaping and optional bust darts to fulfill all your curvy top dreams, and it comes in nine sizes. You’ll find it on Ravelry.

Take it even more romantic with the Daphne Top from Friday Knits, which has puffed sleeves and applied I-cord to emphasize the bust and sweetheart neckline. It comes in eight sizes and uses DK weight yarn.

Or add some sweet flowers with the Gigio pattern from Emilie Luis. This pretty pattern found on Ravelry has cable panels running up the front with the option for adding sweet embroidered flowers. You can also add decorative buttons if you like. It comes in 11 sizes and calls for sport weight yarn.