Ways to Join New Yarn without Weaving in Ends

Lots of knitters hate weaving in yarn ends, so it’s popular to wonder if there are ways to join in new yarn that don’t involve having to weave in ends when the knitting is done. Here’s a quick look at three of the most popular options and how to do them.

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First, you can tie the yarn ends together using a knot that’s known in the yarn world as the magic knot. It’s super strong, easy to do, and theoretically you can tie it, trim the yarn ends super close to the knot and never worry about it again. I usually leave a little bit of a tail when I do this just in case, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a knot come undone when I did it properly.

This is the way to make a magic ball, where you take all your tiny yarn leftovers and join them together to knit with. Knotions has a tutorial for how to do it.

If you’re working with wool or other natural, feltable fibers, my favorite way to join a new ball of yarn is what’s known as the felted join (or, if you want to be more dramatic, spit splicing, since you can do it with saliva instead of water). Basically you separate out the plies a little bit on the end of the new yarn and the old yarn, add a little water and rub the ends together between your hands until they sort of felt together.

I’m working on an intarsia vest right now that has about 20 different balls of yarn across the width of it and the only way I can handle it is by working with a piece of yarn about as long as my arms and using the felted join to make it back into a continuous strand. If you want to know how to do this, check out the tutorial at Brooklyn Tweed.

Another good option is known as the Russian join, which has the benefit of being able to be used on any kind of fiber. You need a yarn needle to work it, but once you know how it’s pretty quick and easy to do. Sheep and Stitch has a good photo tutorial of how this one works.

Of course if you’re working a sweater or a hat or something with an inside, you can sometimes just leave your tail ends hanging and not worry about it.

What do you do when you join new yarn? Do you like weaving in ends? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[Photo: Sheep and Stitch]

An Easy Way to Weave in Yarn Tails as You Knit

Great Ways to Weave in Ends

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns!

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil.

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn.

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point.

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up.

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.

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