How to Sew Up Your Work

When knitting garments or blankets, you often need to create the finished work by knitting the parts separately. However, you then need to attach everything together, and this is where sewing up comes in.

Step 1:

Gather your tools. For sewing up, you need a darning needle and some of the yarn you used to knit (although any needle can be used, a darning needle is recommended due to its blunt end that is less likely to catch on loose fibres).

Step 2:

Place your two separate pieces together and make sure the right side is facing you.

Step 3:

Thread your needle through the yarn of one piece between the "v's" on the first running edge and pull the yarn through.

Step 4:

Repeat the same stitch on the other piece and pull the yarn through again.

Step 5

Repeat the last two steps, moving up one stitch each time.

Step 6:

Once you close the gap, knot the yarn and sew in the ends, and you have successfully sewn up your work.

Sewing up is usually one of the final stages in making knitted garments and leads to the first time you can see your knitted work all in one piece. The method above is called the mattress stitch, although there are various other techniques out there to choose from.

Now that you know how to sew up your knitting, you can create any project, regardless of how many pieces it takes. Sewing up gives you the knowledge to make even bigger works than you could before.

How to Weave in Ends

Have you ever wondered what to do with the loose ends of yarn while finishing a knitting project? Weaving in ends is an effective way not only to get rid of extra yarn length trailing off your work but also to secure those leftovers, meaning there is less chance of unraveling. The general opinion is that there isn’t a wrong way to weave in ends, but there are better and worse ways to do it. Here, we have chosen three different simple methods to finish off your knitted work.

Technique 1: Duplicate stitch on the right and wrong sides

Step 1:

Thread your needle and look at the stitch path on the side you have chosen to weave in.

Step 2:

Insert your needle following this path, following the path each stitch takes

Step 3:

Repeat the process until your yarn runs out.

Technique 2: Weaving in ends in Ribbing

Step 1:

Point the needle away from you vertically and insert the needle up the fabric in an under-over pattern in the columns between the V’s made by the rib.

Step 2:

After a short distance, repeat the last step only this time going down the fabric instead.

Step 3:

Repeat if you like, then gently stretch the fabric, pulling from the left and right edges to settle the stitches.

Technique 3: Duplicate stitch on Garter Stitch

Step 1:

Send the needle through a purl bump, going upwards. Then go down through the bump to the left of it.

Step 2:

Next, slip your needle (horizontally) through part of the ridge below the chosen bumps, then back into the last bump, this time again going upwards.

Step 3:

Repeat, following the path for around six stitches.

Regardless of the stitch you are weaving into, the general pattern is that you follow the path of rows or stitches. Weaving in ends is a perfect way to finish off a project and it gives you a mostly invisible solution to the issue of extra yarn. Weaving in ends is a beautiful way to avoid your knitted pieces from unraveling. It is a good skill to know; however, everyone has their own special method of taming their stray ends, so find what works for you specifically.

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