Knit Tips: Magicking the Ends Away

 By Tiffany Landres

If you are anything at all like me, you would rather start a new project than weave in the ends of your current project. And, even if you aren't as much of an end weaving hater as I am, there are just those projects that seem to have far too many ends to manage.

You may think that there is nothing you can do to make those ends disappear. Well, the truth is, you don't have to be Houdini to manage this feat of magic. You just need a little advice.

There are two ways that I use to get rid of my ends when I have to change colors frequently; the felting method and the Russian joining method.

Videos of both methods can be found below!

The felting method really requires you to have some kind of feltable animal fiber. You may be able to sneak by with a superwash wool or alpaca (if you are willing to spend a little more time on the felting process), but this is best done with a non-superwash wool than any other fiber material.

When you get to a color change, calculate about how much yarn you will need for the stitches of the color you are currently using. I like to knit to the end, cut the yarn about 1/8 inches from the end of the last stitch, and then tink a couple of stitches back (5 to 10 stitches). This way, I know exactly how much yarn I need to get back to the end of that row. I then open the plies at the end of my yarn and grab my new color. I open up the plies at the beginning of my new color, and splice both colors together. Add a little hot water to the join and rub it between your palms. Viola! You have a felted join. All that is left is for you to re-knit the stitches and continue on top your next row. You can work with the gauge to get a more crisp color/row change.

You can also employ this method when you are adding in a new ball of the same color you are currently working on.

The Russian join method works with any fiber at all. The only downfall will be that the area you work this join will be slightly more bulky than the rest of your work. But, then again, the same can be said of the area you need to weave in your yarn any way, so I am not entirely sure how much of a downfall this is. 

When you come to about 5-10 sittches before your next color change, grab your second ball of yarn. Take your first color and your second color and hook them onto each other. This is a little hard to describe, but basically both yarns will be folded together. See the PICTURE OR DIAGRAM below.

Your yarn will now be twice as thick. You simply knit to the end of the row and adjust as needed to get the color change in the right area, then start knitting with the second color, which should also be twice as thick for a couple of stitches. Presto Chango, no ends to weave in, except the yarn you started with and the one you're ending with.

I hope this helps you in your venture to do away with end weaving, like it helps me!