Yesterday, we discovered why stripes zigzag in lace knitting. Now that I have all the stripes on the Sunshine Throw knit up, what do I do with all the yarn ends?
When you’re working with stripes, you have to contend with the fact that you’ll have multiple colors. So either you make it so you don’t have yarn ends when you change colors, or you find a way to secure them each time you change colors. Either way, you have options, so let’s get into it!
So many ends to weave with the knitted stripes I used for the Sunshine Lace Throw, let’s make it easier!
Option 1
Use a self-striping yarn so there are no yarn ends. I didn’t do that, since I was using up extras of the Mystical Marl Yarn, so, while I’d argue that a self-striping yarn is often the easiest option, it won’t apply here, but it’s good to know.
Option 2
Rather than cutting your ends each time you finish a stripe, you can carry your yarn up your work the same way you would carry it across your work in colorwork knitting, except you’re carrying it vertically rather than horizontally. I thought about doing that for this blanket, but since I’d be changing colors right at the edge of the blanket, it would a) be rather obvious and b) make extra bulk at the edge that I’m not fond of. That said, for projects in the round or where a seam can hide the carried yarn, it can be a great way to avoid yarn ends that need to be secured.
Option 3
Weave your ends in as you go. While there are ways to do that, I chose not to. Why didn’t I work my ends in as I went? That’s really a personal preference. I prefer to weave in all my ends at the end of the work, and I don’t find it as daunting a task as some. I put on a podcast or a familiar TV show, and I’m usually done in an hour or so, even with this many ends. But if you find weaving in your ends a daunting part of finishing your knits, you might want to look at techniques that let you weave your ends into your stitching as you work. Which brings me to option 4…
Option 4
Weave in your ends with a darning needle, and this is the option I’ve chosen here. I’m using a UNIQUE Knitting Round-Tipped Yarn Needle to weave in the ends after each stripe. Despite the sheer number of ends, it’s not as daunting a task as it seems, and it’s an important part of finishing. I usually weave in my ends before blocking, especially for an acrylic-blend yarn like Mystical Marl.
Weaving in ends for the Sunshine Throw, and making sure the Mystical Marl yarn is well secured!
Weaving in your ends isn’t, in and of itself, complicated. Just follow the path of the yarn in each stitch, and, once you’ve woven in a handful of stitches, cut your yarn end super close to your knitting. I like to give the fabric a little tug at this point, to get everything settled. You’ll note, though, that I chose to weave in my ends at the garter stitch side edging – this is because my ends were there anyway, but also because the garter stitch will hide the bulk of the ends far better than the stocking stitch and lace will.
The only time I wove my ends into the stocking stitch sections was where I had ends from joining in a new ball of yarn, and, when I was doing those ends, I did my absolute best to try and avoid any of the lace yarn-over stitches, because the bulk of the ends would be most visible there. And I think it worked!
Did it take a while? Not really.
Did I care? Also, not really. For me, weaving in yarn ends, though daunting, is meditative. I got a cup of tea, put on a TV show I know well (for this, I showcased my nerdy side and watched a couple episodes of Stargate SG-1!), and I think it took me about 2 episodes to get everything woven in, so about an hour and a half?
Weaving in your ends is so crucial to having a finished blanket. I can’t imagine having a blanket with ends still dangling loose! And, on the note of a finished blanket, I’ll be finishing up this series in tomorrow’s post with my final thoughts on the finished Sunshine Throw! Join me!
This is part 4 of 5 in this series
Go back to part 3: Why Lace Knitting Makes Stripes Zigzag in the Sunshine Throw
