This poll comes courtesy of a debate from our sister Crochet site from last month prompted by a reader asking "what's the big deal about tying knots in projects?"
As a knitter you've probably heard that when you join a new ball of yarn you're not supposed to tie the loose ends together; just leave them hanging and weave them in separately later.
But is it really such a big deal to tie knots? I personally don't like the bumpy feel of knots in a project, and it seems like they always work their way to the front. When I first took up knitting again after college I tied knots, and those projects seem less special to me today because of those "flaws."
Still, we're not here to judge, and this week I'd like to know how you feel about knot tying in knitting. Do you avoid knots at all costs, use them in certain situations, or tie knots all the time? I'd love to hear more about how you came to your knot-tying philosophy, too, if you have one!
Comments
I don’t make it a habit of it in the middle of any work – I’ve been conditioned that way by doing so many State Fair entries and sample pieces for companies.
If I’m working in wool or mostly wool I’ll spit-splice where I can to avoid having any ends at all.
But when I join yarn at the end of rows, then yes I tie a knot of sorts, so stop the selvedge getting misshapen. I used to undo these at weaving-in time, but found that it didn’t make any difference to the seam in most cases. Now I leave them in – I think it provides stability as I just don’t trust weaving alone (maybe I’ hard on knits, but I’ve had unravelings that way).
What I do is this – make a slip knot with the new yarn you’re joining in, just as you would when you cast on. Place the end of the old yarn in the slip knot. Tighten it and snug it up to where you want the new yarn to start. Then, take the two ends of the new yarn and pull tight until you hear the little “pop”. It makes a fantastically small and sure knot that never comes undone.
I just finished a striped scarf that was knit in a tube. I had trouble with the ends and trying to get the colors to match right when I changed colors. I ended up tieing loose knots so I could adjust them a little on the right side.
Pink Pig – this is a useful tip for getting the colour stripes to match while knitting in the round.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrVP129BnRg
There’s even a bonus comment about knots in knitting in there!
I always tie knots because I have had too many projects unravel when woven in ends came loose including a 4 inch end. I have yet to have someone show me a way to keep the ends woven in so they will stay.
I always tie a knot at the end of a row, then untie it when weaving in. But based on the comments before mine, I might just not bother untying if it doesn’t make a difference either way.
Wool- split splice
Other – longer splice or Russian join
I leave the end long and loosely tie them just to keep them from slipping out and then I go back when done and weave them in and trim them…
I weave my ends in. I weave in one direction then go back to where I began. That way the ends never come loose.