Join a New Ball of Yarn to a Project

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Curious about how to join a new ball of yarn to your knitting project? Good news – it’s remarkably easy! In this video, knitting expert Jen Lucas demonstrates two ways to join a new ball of yarn to a project.

For most knitting projects, you’re going to run out of yarn at some point and need to join in a new ball or skeins of yarn to continue your knitted creation. Jen suggests, whenever possible, join the new ball of yarn at the start of a row. It’s much easier to weave in the ends in such a way that they are invisible on the knitted fabric. Every knitter gets into a situation where they need to join the new yarn in the middle of a row; that’s okay too, just be careful when weaving in the ends. If the fabric is loose and airy, you might be able to see the woven-in yarn ends.

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The first way to join a new ball of yarn is to simply pick up the new yarn and start knitting with it. So simple! That first stitch will be a little loose, but Jen tugs on the yarn tails a bit to tighten the stitch up. She suggests tying an overhand knot if that loose stitch makes you nervous. It can easily be undone before weaving in the ends at the completion of the project.

The second method for starting a new ball of yarn on your knitting project is to knit a stitch (or two) with both the old yarn and new yarn held together. This makes the join a little stronger, and less likely to loosen up. Jen cautions when using this method to take care that when you come back to those stitches on the next row, be sure to treat those two strands together as a single stitch.

How do you like to join a new ball of yarn to your knitting project?