While making my folksy sweater, I learned a few neat tricks about weaving in ends and I thought I would share them.

I just wanted to get knitting and didn't take the time to look up tips on knitting fair isle. So, I forgot about steeks and didn't realize I could weave in ends as I knitted. As a result, I ended up with a lot of ends down the front of my sweater and the sleeves.

If, like, me, you already started knitting, there are tips and tricks for weaving in lots of ends quickly,

The first challenge was to deal with all the ends going down my sleeve. Weaving in all of those ends would have taken hours!


There is a simple solution for dealing with many ends when you knit in the round. All you have to do is braid them together.


Just weave the ends together like you are making a French braid. When you reach the end, tie a knot. It only took about five minutes (instead of hours) and it looks good inside and out.


Now, the front opening was a different challenge. I could have braided it as well, but I wanted to make sure that the ends were even more secure.


The best way I found was to weave in the ends, while picking up stitches for a button band (or in my case a zipper band). Simply cut all of the ends so they are about 2 to 3 inches long. Then, while picking up a stitch, wrap the ends in front of the active yarn. Alternate between bringing the yarn up and over your yarn and down and over your yarn.




This causes the ends to weave in a zig-zag or S shape. That way, they won't slip out of place easily. It's also a good idea to knit or purl the first row of stitches through the back leg. This twists the picked up stitches, making them more secure.


At the end, there were only a few little ends sticking out. I just went back with scissors and snipped them off.


The outside edge looks nice and clean.


Tada! That wasn't so hard. I definitely save hours of work compared to sewing in each end individually.