Options and Tips for Weaving in Ends Like a Pro

I have a somewhat dark secret: sometimes I never weave in my ends on knitting projects. Or at least not very well.

I have sweaters that have basically felted ends on the inside because I never bothered to weave them in. If the stitches on either side of the place where the yarns changed don’t look loose, I think it’s fine.

But there are lots of projects where this non-solution to the problem of weaving in ends won’t work, in which case you need a game plan.

Sheep Among Wolves has a great overview of the options for weaving in ends, from working both strands of yarn together to how to weave in ends horizontally, vertically and in different stitch patterns.

I usually don’t give my weaving in that much thought, but it’s definitely a place where it’s worth taking the time to do it right.

How do you weave in ends?

Next Pattern:

This swirly square stitch knitting pattern from Studio Knit is a lot of fun, and it looks kind of complicated without being difficult at all.

The swirly nature of the block comes from regularly placed increases, as the pattern is worked in rounds from the center out. Switching between sections of all knit stitches and all purl stitches (which gives you stockinette and reverse stockinette respectively when worked in the round) adds to the off-kilter flair but makes it really easy to knit.

You can work it in a single color or change colors regularly. This isn’t really a change colors randomly kind of pattern just because it looks better if you work a full repeat in a single color, but you know there are no rules so you can do whatever you want.

You can also make it any size you like, and indeed use any yarn you want. This one is blanket sized and used five colors of worsted weight yarn, but you can use any yarn and corresponding needles (you’ll need double pointed needles and circulars of various lengths, depending on how big you want to make your square).

For a start, why not grab some cotton yarn and stitch up a swirly washcloth? You could still use a couple of colors if you want, jsut for fun.

Once you try that, you’ll probably want to make a bigger version, and you could definitely use more colors than Kristen did (or just one color if you prefer), you just need to make sure you change colors at the beginning of the pattern repeat to keep everything looking good.

If you’re ready to start (and I know I am!) you can grab the free pattern and check out a video to help you get started at Studio Knit.

[Photo: Studio Knit]

Next Pattern:

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