by: Sierra Roberts

Weaving in your ends – Stockinette stitch tutorial

January 27th, 2018 by Sierra Roberts | Posted in Fiber Arts Education, General News, Knitting, SM_TPE, SM_TPEF |

Weaving In Your Ends…

Although we often try to avoid it, knitters will inevitably have some loose ends to weave in when completing a project. Like with everything in the knitting world, there are many different ways to accomplish this goal. Below, I’m going to show you the two techniques I most often use when weaving in ends on the back side of your typical Stockinette stitch fabric.

The easy way

This is the way I first learned how to weave in my ends. This method works best on tighter knit fabrics. It does not work very well on dainty fabrics, and you definitely shouldn’t use it on anything with loose, open stitches.

Step 1:

See all those mountains and valleys?  If you look carefully, you’ll see that these mountains and valleys are aligned in columns. Begin by choosing a mountain or valley (in this case, I chose a valley) that is very close to where the end is attached to your project. Insert your threaded tapestry needle under that valley (or “u”) from the bottom up.

Step 2:

Going up in a straight line from that first valley, skip the valley directly above it and then pick up the following one the same way as the first.

Step 3:

Continue in that manner, sticking your needle under every other valley, for a few more stitches. Pull your yarn through, making sure not to tug too tightly. For the sake of showing the stitches SUPER clearly, I’m using a contrasting yarn to demonstrate.

Step 4:

Next, make a U-turn and go back down the line, picking up all those valleys you skipped on the way up.

Step 5:

There you have it! If a yarn is particularly slippery, you may want to repeat this process once more to make sure it is secure. When you’re done, snip the end close to the fabric and call it a job well done.

The fancy way

A really fail-safe way to weave your ends in is simply making a series of duplicate stitches. This works for a broad range of fabrics. I call it the “fancy” way because duplicate stitches have a funny way of intimidating people. Really though, you’re just following along. Allow me to illustrate!

Step 1:

To start, insert your needle under a mountain (or frowny face if you’re having that kind of day) from the bottom up.

Step 2:

 
Next, insert your needle into the valley just above and to the right of the first mountain. Pull yarn through.

Step 3:

Insert your needle through the valley directly to the left of the valley you just came up through, but this time going from top to bottom.

Step 4:

  
Now bring your needle back through the original mountain, from top to bottom.  You have completed your first duplicate stitch!  See that little mountain?  You made that!

Step 5:

 
Continuing with the next mountain to the left, repeat the whole process again.

In the photo above, I stretched out the fabric a little so you can see the full stitch.

Well done! Between these two methods, you’re well on your way to a neatly finished project.

Recommended Tools:

To make this as easy as possible we recommend using a large-eyed yarn needle (also called a tapestry needle or darning needle). You can use a small crochet hook in a pinch, but that is a little harder as the yarn may tend to slip off and the hook may catch threads it isn’t supposed to! The bent tip style can be helpful when lifting individual stitches, as you can move the needle without stretching the stitch.

Here are the needles we recommend:

Chibi Bent Tapestry 3 Needle Set

Chibi 3-needle Tapestry Needle Assortment

Chibi Jumbo Darning/Tapestry Curved Needles

Large-eyed Tapestry Needles (Susan Bates) Sz 13

5" Steel Needle (Susan Bates)

You’ll also want a small, sharp pair of scissors with a comfortable grip so you don’t accidentally cut something you don’t want to, but can still get nice and close to remove the tail.

Merchant and Mills Wide Bow Scissors

4" Spring Action Scissors

Floral Scissor with Sheath

3.75" Folding Scissors

Multi-colored Stork Scissors

Related items of interest: • Multi-Craft Equipment • Weaving Equipment