How to weave in crochet ends, is a crochet skill that we always get asked about.
Have you ever had trouble with a finished crochet piece starting to come unravelled?
Or had obvious knots showing in your work where you’ve joined or changed yarns or colors?
Or had loose ends start to wave at you after a while of wearing a finished garment? Yes, we’ve all been there. How to deal with the ends of our yarn so they stay tucked away, hidden and tightly secured. Can sometimes be a challenge.
Plus, let’s face it, when you have a lot of ends to deal with at the end of the project, it’s often not the most exciting part. We might all not give that part of the finish the serious attention it deserves.
Let’s change all that today and take a good hard look at weaving in the loose ends in our beautiful crochet projects.
How To Weave In Crochet Ends
Weaving in ends is important in the sense that it gives the finished projects a more refined look keeping yarn ends from getting loose and unraveling the whole thing.
Knowing how to weave in crochet ends can be time-consuming especially if you have a lot of loose yarn ends. The process is however not difficult to achieve.
Knowing how to weave yarn ends is an absolute necessity at the end of every crochet project. The smallest crochet projects have at least two ends one on the casting edge and one at the bind off edge. Larger and more complex crochet projects can have many ends that need weaving in.
Before you commence to weave in ends crochet, ensure that you have between four and six inches or 10 to 15 cm of yarn in places where you need to weave in the ends. A rough estimation should do just fine; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Tips For Weaving In Loose Crochet Ends
- You will need a few inches along the places you need to weave in yarn ends. This is especially crucial in cases where you plan to use a tapestry or yarn needle. This is the easiest way to weave in your ends.
- Where possible, identify where the yarn ends will go for easier weaving and enhanced comfort while wearing the finished garment. Whenever possible, start a new ball of yarn at the edges of your work. Try avoiding placing threads that need to be woven in on uncomfortable or conspicuous places, such as the middle back portion of a shawl.
- Loose yarn ends can be woven in anywhere on a garment, but you might want to avoid tying the loose ends together. This is because tying off ends often leaves a bump and it’s not pretty. You can however temporarily tie the ends together while you work on a section but make sure you untie any knots before you weave in the ends.
- Sometimes, I like to pull my end taut, snip it off, and then let it spring back into the stitches just to make sure it’s really hidden in there — and because I don’t want to risk cutting too close to the piece. Could you imagine accidentally cutting the project? Heart attack.
Weave In The loose Yarn Ends Before You Block
- Remember to weave the ends in before you block. This makes doubly sure that everything stays in place and keeps its shape after blocking.
- If your piece has seams in it, use them to your advantage. Weave the yarn in and out of the seam, where it’s guaranteed that no one will ever spot it. As long as you cannot tell where you’ve woven in yarn ends or there are no ends poking through, any method you settle for is fine.
- However, different crochet projects have different outcomes which may call for a specific method of weaving in yarn ends. The method you choose will also be determined by the yarn material you’re working with.
Why You Need To Know How To Weave Yarn Ends
Depending on the level of experience and personal preference, every crocheter has her method of weaving in yarn ends. How to weave yarn ends is, therefore, a question of personal choice.
There is no real right or wrong method to it as long as the goal is accomplished. In my books, the method that accomplishes perfectly woven in ends is the right method.
So, what exactly is the main idea behind crochet weave in ends? You could simply leave them as they are, right? Here’s why you should weave in yarn ends;
- To tuck away the exposed ends of the yarn, making it invisible both on the back and the front side. In cases where both sides show, such as on a scarf, weaving in makes the ends as inconspicuous as is possible.
- To prevent the exposed ends of yarn from unraveling and undoing all your hard work.
- Your crochet project will look much prettier and feel more comfortable to wear than it would with excess exposed yarn ends.
1. Stitching Along The Edge Weaving In The Crochet Ends
Stitching along the edge is a popular technique where the yarn ends are right on the edge of the crochet item you are working on. If you are working a crochet item that has seams, stitching along the edge is an easy way to hide the yarn ends along the seams.
2. Duplicate Stitching To Weave In Loose Ends
The Duplicate stitching technique is another excellent way to weave in yarn ends. Duplicate stitching is an embroidery technique often used as a decorative technique to finished crochet projects. In this method, the yarn is stitched onto the item in a similar pattern on the one used to crochet the project.
This literally duplicates the knit or purl stitches used in the finished fabric. Duplicate stitching makes for an incredibly strong weave that is almost invisible. The technique is not, however, suitable for all patterns and works best with worsted weight yarn or thinner yarn. The duplicated stitches would otherwise look bulky.
3. Weaving In Crochet Ends Diagonally
But the best way we’ve seen how to weave yarn ends comes in Edie Eckman’s class on Craftsy called “Improve Your Crochet: Essential Techniques”.
Edie likes to weave in her ends diagonally in one direction, then across for a couple of stitches and then diagonally in the other direction.
This method seems to deal much better with horizontal stretch and prevents those little yarn tails from popping right out again or coming loose, when you put some tension on your work. Here’s just a small example taken as a screen shot from the class.
4. Whipstitch The Stitches
Whipstitch around the stitches on the wrong side of the work. I’ve used pink yarn above to show you how that whipstitch looks. Normally, of course, you’d use the same color yarn when you’re weaving.
Use the same technique as you would if you were weaving right into the stitches, changing directions to secure the end as much as possible. The Whip Stitch is the perfect technique to weave in yarn ends and create a nearly invisible seam on the “right” side of your crochet project.
5. Weave In The Loose Ends As You Crochet
Double up your yarn and take the loose end with you as you crochet. This works well if you’re crocheting with the same color. (Carrying a pink yarn with a yellow yarn might look awesome, but I doubt it’s the look you’re going for!)
It’s also a relief to finish a project and have most of the ends already taken care of. Tuck the tails along the top of the row you are crocheting over. Then continue to crochet right over it to conceal it and make it as unnoticeable as possible. Weaving in the ends in as you go saves you a ton of work. There is hardly any extra effort required.
How to Weave In Crochet Ends Video Tutorial
Ashley Little’s Tips On How To Weave in Crochet Ends
Ashley Little has given us 3 suggestions on how to deal with loose ends:
- Weave through the stitches
- Whipstitch the stitches
- Weave as you crochet-These are all good suggestions and will most likely work well enough for most projects.
Now you know how to weave in crochet ends.
In doing your crochet projects you won’t worry for loose or unraveled ends. Share with us your works using in our Facebook page.
For more crochet tutorials, check out our guide on How to Crochet a Triangle, How to Avoid Twists in Long Crochet Chains, How to Soften Yarn, and How to Crochet a Straight Edge Every Time.
In the end, try all the methods and see which one you prefer. I hope you find a favorable response to “how to weave in crochet ends .”
