Ask Patty: Knitting in Your Tail

Dear Patty,

I learned to weave in my ends as I knit when I did my first shawl KAL. The designer taught to pick up the tail each stitch and wrap it over the working yarn. He was using pretty thin yarn and it was cool and had the same look in the back as twined knitting.

I tried the same thing with a heavier weight yarn on a sweater and it looked bumpy from the front AND the end kept popping out. Is there a better way?

Also, it was sort of slow going to have to pick up the tail every time and cross it over the working yarn. Is there a way to do it with two hands? I know that sounds like I’m being picky and lazy, but I am!

Impatient Emma

Dear Impatient Emma,

Some say “lazy,” I say “efficient.” Some say “picky,” I say “perfectionist!”

As my grampa used to say “there’s more than one way to skin a cat.” Although why anyone would want even one way to skin a cat, let alone multiple ways, is beyond me.

But I digress.

Your observation that the back side looks like twined knitting is a good one—and one reason that over-every-stitch method of trapping your tail is good for some projects and not others.

In twined knitting, you are working with two strands of yarn (or two ends of the same ball of yarn) knitting them alternately and twisting the yarn you are working over the yarn just used, each stitch. This creates a denser, firmer fabric.

This is what the backside of two-color twined knitting looks like. Notice that twisty band right under the row of knitting.

Let’s look first at what happens when you trap the tail by wrapping it over the working yarn every stitch.

When you continue to wrap your tail over the yarn every stitch, you get this neat little twisted band under the row of knitting.

So why not always do it this way? Why did you like it on a shawl, but not on a sweater? Because just as there’s no crying in baseball, there’s no “always” in knitting.

Shawl happiness—straight and steady

Shawls are blocked to their finished measurements and there’s no real stretching as you wear them. This method of weaving, which is basically the tail going straight underneath the row you are trapping it with, can work nicely. If you block your shawl to its finished measurement and then clip the tail, that bad boy’s not going anywhere.

Sweater sadness—poofing and popping

Since a sweater moves, every time you stretch your fabric, that tail poofs up and the ends pop out. Notice the cream color weave already poofing a bit and I’ve barely moved the fabric.

Add to that a chunky yarn and it’s not my favorite weave.

When the tail moves over, under, over, under it’s closer to the way our knitting moves, and it can easily be done two-handed.

First let’s look at how it would be done one-handed, just so we can see what’s happening:

• Join the new ball and knit the first stitch.
• Move the tail over the working yarn so the tail is to the right. Knit the stitch. The tail is trapped under the working yarn. So far exactly the same as the first method. Notice the tail ends up under and to the right of the working yarn.

• Move the tail over the top of the working yarn, so the tail is to the left. Knit a stitch. The tail ends under the working yarn.

Repeat these two steps: move from under to over to the right, then over to the left.

The final result is the tail moving under and over, under and over.

This handy dandy move can be done with two hands. It is the same as trapping floats in stranded knitting.

• If you are a picker and you hold your working yarn in the left hand, you hold the tail in your right hand.
• If you are a thrower and you hold your working yarn in the right hand, you hold the tail in the left hand

Pickers

• Join new ball and knit the first stitch.
• Insert right hand needle into stitch. With your right hand, throw new color under to over around right hand needle.

• Pick working yarn around tip of needle, unthrow new color.

• Pull new stitch through. Tail is now OVER working yarn.

• Knit next stitch as usual. Tail is now UNDER working yarn.

Repeat those steps. One stitch has the funny move (insert, wrap, pick, unwrap, pull through) followed by a regular stitch.

Let’s try that again for the throwers in the house! This is the wonderful moment when throwers can smugly declare that it’s soooo much easier to knit in your tail as a thrower.

Throwers:

• Join new ball and knit the first stitch.
• Insert right hand needle into next stitch under the tail, which is held in your left hand.

• Wrap the working yarn around right hand needle letting the tail pop off tip of right hand needle.

• Pull new stitch through. Tail is now OVER working yarn.

• Knit next stitch as usual. Tail is now UNDER working yarn.

Repeat those steps. One stitch has the funny move (insert under tail, throw, let tail pop off, pull through) followed by a regular stitch.

Over, under it goes!!

And, yes, I made you a video. I didn’t just meet you all, you know.

Xxoo,

Patty the impatient efficient knitter

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