Ugh! I know this subject has been done to death but I’m just about to a die a death…Well, my projects are!
No matter which technique try my ends always seem to poke out or begin to unravel. Can anyone help with sure-fire way to keep them from doing so please ?
Because a knitted fabric is stretchy, I think you can not avoid having the ends poking out at some point by just weaving in. I mean, if you cut the end so it is hidden by some strands of the fabric, then if one is stretching the fabric obviously the end will not be at the same spot anymore. The normal solution is to just accept this and place a poking end on the backside.
If one really want to avoid ends poking out, then one has to look into the different way of joining the yarn ends themselves. There are several methods allowing to have different length of the strands so the join is spread out a bit. Felting, Russian join, braided join etc allow this.
I do the russian join if the yarn is thin enough , otherwise I do a lot of weaving in!
Make sure that you join yarn at an unobtrusive part of the garment, and then i tend to weave in on the wrong side, and by splitting the back of the stitches with a sharp needle . I also weave in in different directions, the diagonal being the least prone to stretch, or down the back of a rib column. In my final pass, i go back through the weave i have just done so that the strand splits itself and then i leave a very short end poking out on the wrong side. It sounds like overkill but it works!!
It depends too on the yarn you’re using. Most wool tends to grab onto itself so the ends tend to stay put. I leave about a cm of yarn showing on the wrong side after weaving the ends in. It won’t win a prize at the county fair but the ends are much less likely to poke through.
Acrylic is a bit more difficult to work with and even leaving a cm or so at the very end sometimes isn’t enough. In those cases I stitch the end down with a sewing needle and thread.
Just in case, here’s a good method for weaving in those ends. It’ll maintain the stretch of knit fabric.
Thank you all. I’m going to try your technique, Mel.
This is a really good tutorial on weaving in ends. She provides several techniques so you can pick the one that works best for you and your project - the pictures are so helpful:
Some yarns tend to poke out or unravel easier than others. I’ve taken matching thread to tack down the end a few times.
Agree Jan. With thicker acrylic/nylon aran type yarns , they are so slippery that weaving in doesn’t hold them. I’ve had to sew in place with matching thread. Especially with kids stuff which I want to be machine washable.
I choose a knit part of the pattern if possible and then knit two or three stitches with the old yarn end and the new yarn beginning together and then a further two or three stitches taking the old yarn along the back of the piece underneath the knitted stitches then when I’m finished all I have to do is snip off what’s left exposed
I learned how to knit in ends from Ann Bourgeois and her Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified I’ve seen the method on You Tube. Might find it under Philosopher’s Wool, the name of the company.
It works. I have non-wool hats of multi colors – at least nine - and none have raveled after a wash.
Sorry I’m not a computer guru to give you a link. Do a bit of looking and I’m sure you’ll find it.
Hi guys!
Sorry for my late reply. You gave me a lot of useful tips here and I have been able to weave in my ends successfully as a result! Thannk you!