After you bind off a piece of knitting, you will almost always have one or more yarn tails to weave into your piece. There are two schools of thought on how to get rid of those loose yarn ends on knitting. Knitting purists say you should weave in your ends so there are no knots in your knitting. I say, go ahead and knot if that will anchor your yarn better. Here, I will show you a standard way to weave in your loose ends using a “duplicate stitch” pattern. Then, you can learn how to make a tiny knot, which will tie your loose end into the fabric.
Below are both video and written tutorials to help you learn how to weave in your ends.
Video Guide: How to Weave in Loose Ends on Flat Knitting
Written Guide: How to Weave in Loose Ends on Flat Knitting
To be rid of your loose ends without ruining your work, you cannot just cut them off with scissors. Before snipping your ends off, you will need to sew or “weave” them into your project. Anchoring your tails to the knitting by weaving them into the fabric in prevents your stitches from coming unraveled.
You will thread the loose end through a darning needle, which you can weave through your work to duplicate the pattern you have knit. This generally is referred to as “duplicate stitch” in knitting. The curving purple lines below represent possible routes you might follow when trying to replicate the snake-like weave of a knitting project.
Those who weave in their tails without tying a knot must sew the tail into the work for several rows before trimming it off; this ensures that if the tail comes loose, you will have enough yarn to weave it back in again.
If you choose to tie in your loose end with a knot, you will only need to duplicate a few stitches when you weave in. Then, you can tie a tiny knot to hold your tail in place before trimming away the extra yarn.
I have divided this lesson into three more parts, to make it easier for you to read (and for your computer to load). Choose the lesson you’d like to learn below, to be directed to more specific written instructions for each part.
How to Weave in the Tail on the Cast On Edge
Weave in the Cast-on Tail:
A long-tail cast on, like most other cast ons, will always leave a tail. Learn how I weave in then tie off this loose end on flat knitting projects.
How to Weave in the Tail on the Bind Off Edge
Weave in the Bind-off Tail:
The standard bind off will also leave a tail. This tail can be used to fix odd edges at the same time they are being woven in. Find out how to finish off your bind off edge with the loose end.
How to Tie In a Loose End with a Knot
Knot in Yarn Tails:
I always tie my yarn tail onto one of my knit stitches with a tiny, strong, and almost invisible knot. Learn how to knot in your yarn ends before you trim them away.
Practice With My Knitting Pattern
You can learn to knit along with me using my Free Beginner Face Scrubby Pattern.
Up Next
The next step in learning to knit is to make the purl stitch to start adding texture and patterns to your knitting projects.
Go Back to the Learn to Knit Index