Not the most exciting topic, and for many it’s the least fun part of a project (see this post for more on the 5 stages of crocheting a blanket). However, they are important. Leave them dangling and your work looks scruffy. Just cut them off and, well, you run the risk of all of those hours of hard work unravelling in the washing machine. If you are a lover of frequent colour changes in your work then you could have to deal with literally hundreds of pieces of yarn!
There are loads of ways to deal with them. Some brave, optimistic people just snip and hope. Others spend hours darning them in, and then there’s always the option of crocheting over the ends. I’m going to talk about the pros and cons of each way, and share some tutorials I have found that might help.
Method 1 Snip and Hope
Pros
It’s very quick and easy, no fussing required.
Cons
All that is securing your work is the slip stitch you made to join colours (or whichever method you used to join). This means your work may unravel at some point in the future (depending on how the item you’re making is intended to be used of course!)
It’s a bit risky, but can be useful in stuffed toys if you’re just trimming off a bit of the end and leaving a longer length to stuff inside the toy.
Method 2 Crocheting over the ends
Pros
It’s quick and easy, and also you do it as you go along so you aren’t left with a million ends to deal with when you have finished crocheting. It is quite handy for blankets.
Cons
It’s only really suitable for projects where you have stitches close together, i.e. not lacy patterns. If you try it with more open patterns you will be able to see the yarn running through your work which can be quite unsightly.
Also if the ends start coming out from under your stitches there isn’t anything else securing them and making sure they are firmly anchored into your work.
Method 3 Darning
Pros
You can make the ends really secure by darning in using a needle or weaving in using a crochet hook. My preferred method is to weave in and out of one side of the loops then back towards the join. I always stretch out the piece of crochet slightly after darning so that it doesn’t unravel if the fabric is stretched later on. I then snip the end after that.
Here’s some more methods for weaving in ends for you to try.
ConsIt’s takes ages! It’s really handy for when you’re procrastinating about doing housework though.
That’s about all there is to say about ends! Apart from what to do with the bits you snip off. Some people save them to use to stuff Amigurumi.
How do you deal with yarn ends? Have you ever had an unravelling disaster?
you make me want to crochet right now!
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Haha! Thank you!
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Great post. I haven’t had time to look into all those methods yet – but I will – thank you.
I save all the ends in little felted pots I made and use them for stuffing things and for the kids to use in collage and with Fuzzy Felt to make pictures. Longer bits left over are currently being tied together with a reef knot, rolled into a ball and crocheted into a random throw/seat cover for the caravan, leaving all the knots and ends on view. I have a blog post brewing on this!
I’m loving this series.
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That throw sounds fab. I must start saving my yarn ends for the kids craft too. 😊
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Brilliant!! I’ve always wondered how you talented ladies finish off your crochet without it all becoming a huge kitten toy of unravelled yarn. 🙂
Love how you’ve done the Pros & Cons of the different methods too. Another awesome Post. Thank You!!
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Thank you for your lovely comments. 😊
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Great post! I tend to darn in, but I’ll need to try your weaving method! I am a hoarder so all the ends, big or small, go in a plastic bag. I haven’t done anything with them yet but I’m sure I will at some point. Probably… 🙂
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Haha, probably is a useful word! 😊
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I hate ends!!! Made both my boys a huge striped blanket each and left hundreds of ends to the end of both blankets
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Haha! I take break every few rows and do it as I go along otherwise I’d never finish a project!
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I can’t stand a loose end, it bothers me like a hangnail or something similar. I use an combination of 2 or 3 methods. I join the new yarn then crochet for 6 or 7 stitches over all of the ends, then I take my hook and weave back about 4 stitches and then forward to the join. Then I continue on a few more stitches and snip any little bits. It is really fast and I never have to go back and deal with loose ends at all. And so far, nothing has ever come apart in the wash 🙂
Yarn is super easy to deal with, thread, not so much. If only I could find a good way to deal with ends in my thread crochet lace! Any ideas?
❤
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Great tips, I’m sure I read a tutorial about dealing with thread ends neatly. It sounded similar to the way you do it I think. 😊
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