Weaving in ends. We have such a love/hate relationship with them.

I still remember the time I made a striped tank top and waited to weave in the ends (all eleventy-billion) until the very end. That’s a mistake I don’t plan to ever make again.

Here are 3 great ways to weave in your ends, and even if it’s not an “as you go” method, you should do it as you go so you avoid my eleventy-billion problem. Learn from my mistakes and just weave in as you go. As Monk says, you’ll thank me later.

Crochet Over It in the Next Row

This is my go-to method when it’s possible.

This is the easiest one and can easily be undone if you need to frog it too.

I like that it’s a way to deal with your ends now, versus waiting until the end of your project. You won’t be faced with what feels like 100’s of ends when you just want to be done with the project.

Caveat – if you want to weave in both your end and your beginning tail, I suggest doing it separately so you don’t try to cram too much in that one row. Here’s an example:

Weave It In

Another great technique is to weave the end in.

Use a Tapestry Needle or a Crochet Hook

I highly recommend you weave in following your stitch placement to guide you. And this most definitely means do NOT stretch the yarn across an eyelet. In other words, if there isn’t already yarn there, don’t add some.

Both Options

Pros

• Tidy and tight join.
• If you do it right, it’s likely to be long-lasting.

Cons

• Creates a right and wrong side – not great for reversible items

Did you know you could use either? They both have their own pros and cons:

Tapestry Needle

Pros

• You can split the yarn to make it even stronger.

Cons

• You need to locate another tool.
• You need to thread the yarn through the needle.
• You need the yarn to be long enough to thread through the needle.

Crochet Hook

This is my method of choice if I can’t crochet over the yarn (for example, if it’s on the last row). I used a crochet hook in the above example (partly out of convenience, and partly because I can NEVER, EVER find a tapestry needle when I need one (but I’ll find 5 tonight when looking for a locking stitch marker. Guaranteed).

Pros

• You already have the hook out.
• Works with shorter amounts of yarn.

Cons

• You can’t easily split the yarn.

Weave in Both Directions for Best Results

I highly recommend you weave in one direction and then the other (preferably in two different rows ). The change in directions makes it harder for the yarn end to weave itself out.

Use It to Sew Up the Edge

This method can take a little planning for it to work, and it’s not likely that you’ll be able to do it on all ends. But, using the end for another purpose? Oh yes!

Make Sure It’s Long Enough

You’ll likely need the yarn to be longer (possibly, A LOT longer) than what you’d choose to leave for the edge on its own, so make sure you have enough. Otherwise, you’ll need to join yarn during your sewing up and I do NOT recommend that (ask me how I know that).

Stretch it a Bit

Regardless of which method you use, make sure you stretch the piece a bit before clipping the end. If you don’t do this, your end might end up peeking out on the front (ugh!). So just take the time to stretch it a bit before clipping the yarn.

And you should take a look once you’ve blocked the piece because you might find another end peeking out that you SWORE was all taken care of.

Craft Smarter In the New Year

This post is part of our Craft Smarter in the New Year series in January 2018! Don’t miss any of our posts!

1. Improved SSK’s (knit)
2. Centered Double Decrease (knit)
3. Stacked Increases and Decreases (knit)
4. Post Stitches (crochet)
5. Weaving in Ends (crochet)
6. Jogless Stripes (crochet)
7. Bias Bindoff (knit)
8. Fix-a-Stitch Review (knit)
9. One-Row Buttonhole (knit)