Tuesday Tip: When Weaving In Ends, How to Clip the Yarn Tail

Tuesday Tip: When Weaving In Ends, How to Clip the Yarn Tail

Tuesday Tip copy

Last month we talked about how good finishing can make a project, and I promised you more posts focused on the all important topic of weaving in ends.

I’ve written several Tuesday Tips on seaming. We’ve looked as seaming garter stitch, shoulders, and even tackled the dreaded topic of selvedge edge and mattress stitch. No matter how wonderful your seaming, if your ends are not woven in well, your piece will look homemade. So the question is: how do you weave in ends? Last month I wrote about skimming, but what about that tail? Today we look at

How to Clip the Tail

I remember when I first started knitting, I would carefully weave in my ends, clip it right to the fabric and then as soon as I wore my knitting, it would pop out. I would clip it again…pop, clip, pop, clip . . . until I was out of tail!

Here’s the secret to keeping the tail in:

How to Clip the Tail
1) After you have split the plies as you weave in your ends, change direction to weave in a bit more.

Learn more in the post on skimming.

How to Clip the Tail
2) After you finish weaving in the end, make sure to stretch the piece out to its full width.
How to Clip the Tail
3) Clip the tail leaving 1/4” to 1/2” of yarn.
How to Clip the Tail
4) With the tip of your scissor, fan out the end of the yarn.
How to Clip the Tail
5) Spread the yarn tail fan out and smoosh (highly technical knitting term) it down into the fabric.

This content was originally published in Creative Knitting Magazine.


How to Read Your Knit StitchesFor more ways to weave in your ends (and join new balls, and tons more), check out my class, “How to Read Your Knit Stitches & Master the Pattern.”

CLICK here for digital download or DVD.

To read past Tuesday tips, just click on the Tutorial category of the blog (or here I did it for you!).

If you have a “is there a better way to do that”, or “how do you do that” question, leave me a comment, and I’ll add it to the Tuesday Tip list!

Check Out These 4 Best New Knitting Books of 2025 from My Talented Friends (Perfect Gifts!)

Share:

Sales & Specials

Get My Blog Posts in Your Email or Blog-Reader

Proin malesuada sit amet arcu ac ultrices.

Related Articles

My Twenty-Year Journey to Patty Lyons’ Knitting ER

From the Introduction: “Many years ago, I managed a small yarn shop in the West Village of New York City. I often found a knitter ...
Read More

Palm Canyon Video Sweater Class – KAL

Join me for the Palm Canyon KAL! It’s a fun knit with an integrated sleeve and tons of options. There are two different yarns, two ...
Read More

AffiKNITy 2026 Recap: Yarn, Laughs, Rocking Chairs, and a Little Toilet Paper Knitting

We’re back from Otesaga just over a month, and I’m still thinking about it. Every year I come home from AffiKNITy feeling refilled. Not just ...
Read More