To Knot or not to Knot?

Let’s just get this dirty little topic out in the open. Tell us about your experiences and why you do one or the other (or both).

My mentor said that the proper way is to weave the yarn ends and never tie knots because eventually they’ll come out and that beautiful sweater will unravel.

I do knot on occasion, but I still leave the ends long and weave them.

I was a crocheter before knitting and when I was making baby blankets and things that I knew whould get washed alot I would tie and small knot and then weave in the end. It worked for me, but don’t tell anyone!

I confess, I knot when I need to. I’ve never had anything unravel, and I always make sure it isn’t pulled too tight. I change colors a lot and sometimes it’s just plain easier!

ooooooooooooooooh we are gonna go to knitter jail! :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard:

Yeah i knot sometimes. laziness in some cases and i think that the knot is stronger than a weave in most cases.

I have to preface this with saying that I really don’t have anything against knots or anyone who does. If I say something about knots, it’s all in jest. My philosophy on knitting is to do what you want and what works for you.

I don’t knot because I believe weaving is more secure, even and neat. I’m a firm believer in if you’re going to take the time to finish your knitting, do it the best you can. Blame my DH… he thinks this way about everything.

aww Silver I know you were joking…it just cracked me up so much!

I try not to knot ( :lol: ) but when I bind off I haven’t figured out how to weave it back in to my work. So I double knot - it’s bad I know!

My first project, that I finally finished after the 2nd knitting… a simple nubby cotton baby blanket… I knotted. I didn’t like the fact that I did but I didn’t feel bad about it until I realized half way through that I was “maturing” in my knitting thinking. Some of the knots already existed and I posted a question on it too, perhaps out of some sort of “did I do a bad thing?” guilt. Anyhow, they were knots done I suppose when the yarn was wound into hanks at the manufacturer and when I wound them into balls, common sense now tells me I should have untied that knot and then done the “proper” procedure. But, all’s well that end’s well… in fact, I even knotted in the middle of a row on 3 occasions cuz I didn’t want to waste the long tail but didn’t have enough to finish the row (apparenlty wasn’t paying attention…) and no one is the wiser. I guess my new philosophy is, knot if you must, and get on with your life but try to do your best with what you can. :thumbsup:

I use this method to weave in the ends and it seems to be working quite well so far–but on my current project I’m knotting after the weaving, because the yarn tends to unravel and I don’t want little fraying bits popping out everywhere. I don’t know if it will help at all, but it was the only thing I could think of!

I am a paranoid knitter… I do both.

Suzie, next weekend we will show you how to weave. :wink:

:cheering: :cheering: :cheering: :cheering: :cheering:

I do it if it’s a really loose knit and where I’m not positive that a weave will stay in. But for the most part, I just weave.

Crazy question will follow…

I’ve always wondered how you do this cause while knitting an afghan the yarn I was using had a few loose threads in the center that I didn’t know about till I was knitting so when I came to the end of one of these threads I wasn’t sure what I was suppose to do… if it was wool I would have felted it together is that ok??? but it wasn’t so I was like now what?? do I start over?? Cause I don’t want a knot there… so those that weave how do you do it?? Do you do a lose slipknot then continue at the end take the slip know out and weave?? Will the weave hold up through washings and useage?? or is the knot stronger?? My afghan is just sitting there waiting for me to figure out what I’ll do… :frowning:

You can take a tapestry needle and weave the ends through the adjoining stitches.

If it is wool, the books say that you can split the wool, moisten it and rub it between your hands to felt it. I honestly don’t have a lot of luck with this, but I’m not all that patient. When I’m being a ‘good girl’ I trap the yarn before I change by twisting it for a few stitches before I change. If I forget, I often knot if it won’t make a difference.

I usually knot when I’m to lazy to do anything else, but I always weave my ends in as I knit, by trapping them under the next few stitches. This way, when I’m finished, I just have to cut off those long ends.

Oh my gosh! I never knew there was an actual “technique” to weaving in the ends. I learned crochet long ago and my mom always taught me no knots, but the weave has always been totally freestyle! I do try to change directions up and down though becasue I think that makes it more secure.

It really drives me nuts when I am knitting along with a new ball of yarn and feel/see a knot coming. I always untie or break it to get rid of the knot. I can be a bit anal like that sometimes.