At Loose Ends

WARNING: This post has a lot of pictures.

I really love working with silk, linen, cotton, and their many blends. The problem with these yarns is that, unlike wool, you can’t just splice them when you need to add a new ball. So here are a few of the techniques I use in order to not waste yarn, and avoid having to weave in all those loose ends. For all of these techniques you will have to become friends with your sewing or darning needle.

Method #1: For any unplied (singles, chenille, boucle,…) or unusually plied (chained, ribbon, …) yarns

I’m going to used Noro Matsuri since I just finished a tank top pattern in this yarn. This yarn is constructed like a long i-cord.

1- Unravel 2-3 inches on the new ball. You can use your needle to tease out the strand.



For Matsuri you might want to remove some of the wool fizz.

2- Thread your needle with this strand.


3- Slightly overlap the two ends and sew the ends together, securely.


4- Run the remaining thread through the yarn to bury it.

I've left the thread here but you should bury it or cut off the excess.

For yarns like chenille or singles, you can use sewing thread or embroidery floss in the same colour as the yarn.

Method #2: For plied yarns that are fingering (4ply) weight or finer

This method creates an area of double thickness but with finer yarns it is not obvious and will not be detected in the finished item. I’m using a very fine silk/bamboo yarn.


1- Thread your needle with yarn from ball A. Taking small stitches and starting about 2 inches from the end of the ball B, stitch through the yarn of ball B for about 1-1.5 inches (longer for slippery yarns like silk).


2- Pull your needle out and smooth out the stitched section.


3- Thread your needle with the tail yarn of ball B. Starting at the initial stitching point, stitch through the yarn of ball A for about 1-1.5 inches (longer for slippery yarns like silk).


4- Pull your needle out and smooth out the stitched section.


Hold the yarn at opposite ends and give it a gentle tug to make sure that everything is smooth. Cut off any excess thread.

This method produces a very strong join. I used it all the time, even for wool. Because the join is so strong, we use it at my weaving guild to join warp threads

Here, I’ve joined two colours of Sea Silk.



Method #3: For plied yarns that are thicker than fingering (4ply) weight

Separate the plies and group them equally. Use Method #2 on the individual groups of plies. It helps if you stagger your joining to balance everything out.

Here I’ve joined some worsted weight mercerized cotton.


I hope my explanations are clear. Try them and see how they work for you.

Happy knitting!