Learn How to Weave in Yarn Ends [FREE Knitting Tutorial]

One of the first tasks you will need to tackle, once you have finished your knitting project, is to weave in yarn ends.

In fact, it is essential to weave the ends in neatly during the finishing. There are several ways of weaving in the ends depending on where they are in your project and the yarn you have used.

However, all yarn ends should always be woven in on the wrong side of your knitting project. Furthermore, any knots should be untied, and the strands of yarn should be worked in opposite directions.

Moreover, you need to make sure that you do not distort the stitches when you are sewing through them. In addition, you should always check that the yarn cannot be seen from the right side of the fabric.

If you are working with bulky yarn, you may want to split the plies and work them in separately.

In case you do not have a yarn needle or a darning needle, you can always use a crochet hook to weave in the ends.

When casting on, binding off or adding a new yarn ball, try and always leave a yarn tail that is about 6 inches (approx. 15 cm) long. This will make it a lot easier to weave in the ends.

Additional Equipment Needed

Weaving Yarn Ends into Seams

If your yarn ends are at the edges of your project, the best thing is to hide the yarn ends in the seam if that is possible.

Untie any knots and thread the needle with one of the yarn ends.

Weave the yarn end along the edge of the knitted piece. After about 2 inches (approx. 5 cm), turn the needle around and work back in the same direction for about 1 inch (approx. 2.5 cm).

Go on to weave in the second end in the same way. Make sure you work the 2 ends in different directions.

If you are blocking the piece, wait until the knitted piece has been blocked before moving on to step #5.

Stretch the knitting a bit before snipping each yarn end close to the knitting. This will ensure that the ends will stay buried as the fabric stretches.

Weaving Yarn Ends at the Cast-On and Bind-Off Edges

Begin by treading the yarn tail onto the yarn needle. (For the purpose of demonstrating the technique in this tutorial, the yarn tail has been colored red.)

On the wrong side of the fabric, insert the yarn needle into the first two bottom bumps of the two rows closest to the edge and pull the yarn through.

Next, insert the yarn needle through the following bottom bump of the second row.  Then insert it into the following top bump on the first row. Pull the yarn tail through.

Insert the yarn needle through the next top bump on the first row. Next, insert the needle into the same bottom bump on the second row and pull the yarn through.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 until most of the yarn tail is buried in the fabric.

If you are planning to block your work, only move on to step #7 when the piece is fully blocked.

Before snipping off the yarn ends, stretch the knitting a bit. This will help ensure that the ends stay buried, even if the fabric stretches.

Trip the excess yarn tail close to the surface of the fabric.

Weaving Yarn Ends in the Middle of Your Work

Depending on your project, you may end up with yarn tails in the middle of your work.

Start by untying any knots.

Thread your yarn needle with the first yarn tail.

Follow steps 1 to 8 in the step-to-step instructions for Weaving Yarn Ends at the Cast-On and Bind-Off Edges.

Thread your yarn needle with the second yarn tail.

In a different direction, follow steps 1 to 8 in the step-to-step instructions for Weaving Yarn Ends at the Cast-On and Bind-Off Edges.

Weave in Yarn Ends: Slippery Fibres

Yarn tails for slippery yarns, such as cotton and silk, can be difficult to weave in. This is because they tend to work themselves loose due to the nature of the yarn.

The best way to bury yarn ends in this type of yarn, is to lock the yarn in by changing yarn directions.

Follow the steps in step-by-step instructions for Weaving Yarn Ends at the Cast-On and Bind-Off Edges.

However, at the same time, split the original yarn each time you cross it.

You may find it easier to do this with a sharp-pointed darning needle rather than a blunt yarn needle. Furthermore, you may also want to consider splitting the plies and working them in separately.

Liked this tutorial? I’m sure you’ll find this basic step-by-step tutorial helpful too: Learn How to Join Yarns When Knitting