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File last modified on July 30, 1995

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The following is a synopsis of various methods of finishing off ends
in knitting, specifically in multi-colour work.
This file was originally compiled by Martha Underwood 
(ddancer@netcom.com).  Please send updates to Emily Way (spamily@io.org).


From: liz@mott.sensor.com (Psychic Amazon)

   Believe it or not, I have made such sweaters where I wove in every
   end.  I have stopped doing that (for the most part) and now either
   weave my ends in while I am knitting or braid them.

   Sewing your thousands of ends in is not too bad if you become one
   pointed or just have some really good music or talk going.

From: graphics@wiley.csusb.edu (Carey Van Loon (Lynn Beck))

   I saw a article, in Knitter's I think, where the knitter braided
   all her ends. The only ones that she wove in were the ones that
   would have shown on the "public" side of the sweater. Still might
   be a little time consuming but easier that threading a needle
   umpteen million times.

From: ruggles@netcom.com (Lynn Ruggles)

   Kaffe uses a technique that weaves in all the ends as he knits so
   he doesn't have any ends to deal with when he is finished knitting.
   I know what the technique is, don't know a name for it, or where to
   find a reference to it (maybe in his books?). I learned it at a
   knitting seminar. If I can find a reference to it, I will post it,
   otherwise I will try to come up with a written description of it.
   It's much easier to show than it is to describe!

From: dws@parcplace.com (David W. Smith)

   Lynn Ruggles writes:
   > Kaffe uses a technique that weaves in all the ends as he knits so
   > he doesn't have any ends to deal with when he is finished
   > knitting. I know what the technique is, don't know a name for it,
   > or where to find a reference to it (maybe in his books?).

   This technique is listed in a number of books under the general
   heading of 'weaving in the ends'.

   In one of the Kaffe Fasset videos, Zoe Hunt makes a comment about
   the insides of Kaffe's sweaters (the ones he knits himself) being
   real messes.

From: crwilker@tx.ncsu.edu (C Reid Wilkerson-Barnes)

   When I have a bunch of loose ends to weave in, I use a tool that
   looks like a rug hook, only narrower.  I got it at a fabric store,
   I think it is for threading elastic, etc. through narrow
   waistbands, etc.  I weave it in "backwards", meaning I start where
   I want the end of the loose yarn, and end up at the yarn.  I then
   just hook it around the base of the yarn.  It has a little latch,
   so when you start to draw it back through, the yarn stays in the
   loop, and nothings else catches. It goes so much faster and easier
   than threading needles!  I'll try to draw it, so you can see what I
   mean.

       ________
      /        \
     /  hook->  \
 \  /            |
  \              |
   \             |
    \ <-latch    |
     \           /
      \         /
       \       /
        \     /
         \   /
          \ /
           |
           |
           |
           |      Of course, this is NOT to scale.

From: barrie@netcom.com (Barrie K. Trinkle)

   >In one of the Kaffe Fassett videos, Zoe Hunt makes a comment about
   >the insides of Kaffe's sweaters (the ones he knits himself) being
   >real messes.

   That makes me feel SO much better.  I was beginning to think I must
   be the only knitter in the world whose backs are messy!  I weave
   the ends in as I go along, but cut them off with an inch or two
   hanging out of the back of the knitting.  Lots of bristly little
   ends on the insides of MY sweaters!

From: "Zoe: Coombs" <coombs@bigvax.alfred.edu>

   I never thread needles to weave in my ends---I use a crochet hook.

From: aeleider@tx.ncsu.edu (Ana Leiderman)

   There is a really good method described in the Vogue knitting book,
   although it tends to show a bit if your tension is not quite right.


From: lutz@platon.econ.vt.edu (Nancy Lutz)

   Last year at Stitches (and how I envy everyone who is going this year),
   I took a class from Nicki Epstein.  She showed us how she weaves ends,
   and I have found that it works well on intarsia.

   The technique is sort of "free-form".  You weave after you are thru
   knitting. (Although of course you can stop in the middle of a piece and
   clean up the ends in the fabric you have finished.)  It helps to leave
   long-ish ends.  You take the end, and after threading thru the next stitch
   in the row to get rid of the dreaded hole, you use the rest of the end
   to tighten up any loose stitches along the color change line.  You do
   this by wrapping the yarn end around the "bar" of yarn on the wrong side
   of the work.  (I am not sure what to call this "bar", but if you are doing
   intarsia it is obvious; it looks sort of like a running stitch along
   the color changes.)  You may need to wrap several times if the stitch is
   very loose.

   Nicki threads her loose ends thru the "bars" in this fashion, checking
   the right side regularly to see if the stitches are indeed being evened
   out.  She does this for maybe an inch or two; if it is a slippery yarn
   like cotton, she finishes off by threading the end right thru the yarn on
   a bar.

   This really works.  Another good secure way to weave in an end is to
   use the end to do duplicate stitch on the wrong side; just follow the
   pattern of a thread.

   Hope that all of this is vaguely understandable!

From: valerie@ultrastar.EE.CORNELL.EDU (Valerie J. Ohm)

   This is the method I use.  I leave 3-4 inch ends while I knit, then
   afterwards, I pull the end through the twist at the color change and
   duplicate stitch back over the same color for four or five stitches on
   the back.  It's *very* tedious and leaves a lot of little short pieces
   of yarn all over the floor (which stick to the bottoms of shoes and
   socks and get tracked all over the apartment :), but it makes for a very
   neat finish that doesn't show at all on the front, and never threatens
   to come loose.


From: ACANNONBROWN@ekcc1.ekcc.bc.ca (Ann Cannon-Brown)

   Through my years of knitting I have tried several different methods
   of joining new yarn, but the one I currently use is the one I've
   been the happiest with.

   For some time I used knots at the back of the work, but I abondoned them
   because somehow they seemed inelegant.  Because I'm a perfectionist,
   I have this compulsion to have the inside of my garments look just as
   perfect (or as close to perfect as possible) as the outside.  I didn't
   like knots because they seemed like flaws -- lumpy and unkempt-looking.

   After I abandoned knots, I tried leaving tails and then knitting them
   into the back of the work fairisle style so as to avoid darning them
   in (a task I don't particularly enjoy).  Eventually I also abandoned
   this method because it made slight ridges at the back of the work,
   which like the knots, also affected the appearance of the insides of
   my garments.

   The next logical choice then seemed to be to hunker down and darn/
   weave the blasted ends into the back of the work.  Eventually, however,
   (you guessed it!) I gave up on this too, because sometimes when the
   odd piece would work itself out a bit, it would cause a stray end
   to sometimes pop out on the right side of the work, and even if
   it 'behaved' itself and stayed at the back, alas, (you guessed it!)
   the back no longer looked perfect.  Now that you all know how
   obsessive I can really be, I don't mind confessing to you that I
   was also beginning to get this nagging feeling that if I were to
   hold my piece up to the light, a faint ridge of darkness where the
   darning lay might be visible.

   O.K., you might say, did I try the splicing method mentioned today?
   Yes, I did, and I must say that although I found the process
   finicky, it didn't turn out too badly.

   What works best for me, however (drumroll -- here it comes) . . .
   The method I have stuck to the longest, however, and one that I still
   feel really good about is this: (drumroll) . . .
   I have pledged never to join yarn in the body of my work.  What this
   means is that I end up wasting a few yards of yarn/project -- I
   always end and start my balls at the selvages, and if I come upon
   a surprise knot, I tink back to the selvage, cut the yarn, and
   begin anew.  At the selvages where I have left tails of yarn, I
   tie neat little knots, cut the tails to about 4-6 inches, then
   after I have blocked my pieces and crocheted my seams, I darn the
   tails into the seam allowances.  Voila! -- the garment that looks
   almost as good on the inside as it does on the outside.

   Ann Cannon-Brown
   Elann Fibre Company