PurlsAndPixels

After you finish knitting a mitten, you will need to smooth out the jog left by your long-tail cast on. Using the loose end at the cuff, you can fix the jog. Then, weave in that cast on tail of your mittens. A tiny knot at the end will anchor your tail to the inside of your work and help ensure that it will stay in place for a long time.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 1:

Thread the loose end through the eye of a darning needle.

Weave in Cast on TailMittens, Step 2:

Turn the work so that the cuff of the glove is facing you and the top of the glove is facing down. At the edge of your work, locate the slipknot, which was your first cast on stitch.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 3:

Insert the tip of the darning needle down through the stitch directly behind the slipknot.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 4:

Pull the needle and the yarn tail through the stitch.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 5:

Insert the tip of the darning needle down and through the slipknot.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 6:

Pull the needle and the yarn tail through the slipknot.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 7:

Guide the tip of the darning needle under the edge of the work and toward the front of the work.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 8:

Pull the needle and the yarn tail through to the outside of your work.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 9:

Locate the loop just behind your slipknot on the backside of your work and insert your darning needle tip down and through it.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 10:

Pull the needle and the yarn tail through the stitch. 

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 11:

Remove the tail from the darning needle.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 12:

Inspect your yarn tail by untwisting it a bit, near your work. Identify the individual yarn plies and count them. Use the tip of your darning needle to help you split the plies into two equal sections. With the four-ply yarn shown, the plies should be split so there are two on each side.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 13:

Gently separate the two halves of the yarn with your darning needle by sliding it out toward the end of the tail. Take care not to break the strands by pulling too quickly or roughly.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 14:

Once the tail is split in two, set one half aside and thread the other half through the eye of your darning needle.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 15:

With the darning needle, sew this half of the tail around the knit stitch that it is coming out from under. Do this by bringing your needle tip under and through the other side of the knit stitch.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 16:

Pull the tail through, only tightly enough to match the pattern of your knitting. Do not pull too tightly.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 17:

Remove the tail from the darning needle.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 18:

Lay the halves of the yarn tail out in opposite directions. One side should point right, the other should point left.

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 19:

Tie two small interlocking knots. (See this link for more specific instructions.)  

Weave in Cast on Tail Mittens, Step 20:

Using the sharpest scissors you have available, clip off both halves of the yarn tail, one at a time, as closely as possible to the knot, without cutting the knot itself.

I’ll show you how to weave in the tails at the mitten fingertips in the next lesson.