I sometimes feel that I’m unusual in my love of ends. As a project draws to completion, and especially if it has involved a lot of different shades, I really look forward to sorting all the ends out.
I don’t find this process onerous. It’s just a question of setting aside enough time and being happy to take things slowly.
I put on an audio book, I stitch and snip, and find a curious pleasure in my growing pile of yarn spaghetti.
Somehow the ends enable a renewed appreciation of the colours I’ve selected for a project – I get to enjoy a combination of shades that I’d spent time over, and loved knitting up, in a very different context. And I find something deeply satisfying, too, in the way my gathered ends wind up the narrative of my own process. For in this messy pile, my ends enact an ending.
Now for some blocking! Onward!
Do you enjoy finishing a project? Or are you among the many knitters who, for a multitude of reasons, dislike ends?
KDD & Co 
Che dolce idea! Lo farò anche io!
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I finds the weaving in of the ends an annoyance—when I was younger, I’d just leave them hanging in the inside of my sweaters—no one will see them, but me! But once I started making things for other people and for sale I had to deal with them. I still don’t like weaving them in but I save the ends and use them to stuff amigurumi animals and, lately, little hearts that fit in the palm of the hand. The local hospice center put out a call for pairs of hearts—one for the dying patient and one for the family—a little something to give comfort at an otherwise sad time. Now my ends are no longer a source of annoyance but of joy in giving back.
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I don’t mind ends in colourwork, I don’t like weaving ends of a completed single colour pullover. Every time I think I’ve got them all, oh no, there’s another one! It doesn’t have the same meditative quality.
I like making stitch markers from my ends. I drape the yarn over a needle and make an overhand knot, then also knot the ends to keep them tidy.
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I too love my bowl of ends as it reminds me of projects. Being a ‘complete/finisher’ it does give me satisfaction to see a neat edging – I also save longer strands, knot them together & tape onto the pattern. Thank you for this post – it is fascinating to read the comments as well. I am currently crocheting a blanket with many ends & have just made a strawberry that attaches to my snipping scissors and keeps my needle in one place so I am not endlessly having to dismantle the sofa to search for it.
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I love processing ends. Like you, I listen to a book and take inordinate pleasure in the process of weaving ends in so they never come out and can never be found. It’s very methodical and very meditative for me. Also, at the end of really complex projects, I need the slower, less involved work to help my mind let go of what it has been doing. My husband jokes that I have five stages of crochet: the dream of what I could make, the design to make the dream take shape, the proofing of the imagined qualities and functions against the reality, the cruising phase when it’s all worked out, and the grief stage at the end of the project. Especially for big, intricate projects that take a long time to complete, there is a definite sense of loss that I won’t be using the patterns and yarn that have become so familiar anymore.
When my elder niece married 2 years ago, I made her and her husband a wedding ring blanket with Malabrigo sock yarn and over a thousand individual motifs. When it was finally all assembled, the back looked like a shag rug with all the ends dangling, but I needed the time spent weaving each one in to let go of the blanket and all the care that was hooked into its fabric.
When I was finally, truly finished, I had a big bowl of multicolored ends to share with the birds for next building (a hidden benefits of using all natural fiber).
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I also enjoy weaving in the ends. I then put them in a small basket in the garden and the birds take them and weave them into nests. Its lovely to come across a nest a couple of years later and see the different colours.
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I enjoy weaving in ends, mostly when I have finished although I do confess to weaving the ends of Dathan as I went along…..just so many. I now like to keep a small length of each yarn used in each project and tape them in to my journal. It makes for a lovely reminder of each knit. Thanks for another really enjoyable post.
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I hate ends, and I think part of that is that I feel particularly bad at it. I don’t mind much if it’s sticky wool on something that won’t be seen (the inside of a stranded mitten or hat) but I really dislike doing it on the wrong side of a blanket, where the stakes seem higher, or when I’ve used a yarn that I don’t trust to stay put.
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I don’t mind weaving in the ends of a project. I’ve been saving the ends under 2 inches in a large bowl for years. Love the colors. The ends larger than 2 inches and any balls of yarn I no longer want, I give to a group of Somali weavers here in Seattle to use in their basket weaving.
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This is beautiful and very adaptable to sock legs. Thank you, C
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I try to keep ends to a minimum by spit-splicing – I almost always use yarn where this is possible. Part of me hates to waste any lovely yarn, part of me would simply rather be knitting! I would leave any remaining ends to felt in like the Shetlanders if I wasn’t a neat-freak.
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I am much fonder of starting projects than I am of finishing them, as my pile of WIPs will attest! For me, the weaving in/adding buttons/seeming stage is a slow, lame duck period after the initial thrill of beginning and before the thrill of using or gifting or gloating over the finished project This might be skewed by the fact that I make a lot of knitted toys where the finishing can be *very* fiddly. I do save the ends for stuffing or provisional cast-ons and am amused sometimes to come across a snippet of yarn that I remember long after the project is done and gone.
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I don’t mind ends at all. I used to be a quilter and would welcome hand stitching a binding for 8-10 hours.
Arthritis has ending my quilting journey so I learned to knit 12+ years ago. Now, dealing with ends from a newly completed wooly lovely is very peaceful and rewarding. Great excercise for my hands too!
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I don’t mind weaving in ends, though I knit them in if I can. But I don’t save those little snippets, as I’ve seen done. I think it’s fair enough that a project creates some waste. I thought of this this morning as I threw ends into the dustbin.
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I enjoy doing Fairisle ends. My cat also enjoys it too! I felt them up and make them in to a ball she can play with.
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I love doing Fairisle ends as does my cat. I felt them up in to a ball for her to play with.
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I recently figured out how to weave in ends as I go. I did it twice and I’m done – it’s so fussy and it’s not as neat (IMO) as my own method of weaving in ends once the project is complete. I also don’t trust that the ends won’t pop out on the ends woven in when knitting (though I’m sure they won’t). I was very surprised to discover this strong preference because I assumed that weaving as one goes is the more “professional” and efficient approach. How strange to learn that it’s not the case. PS: I LOVE looking at all of the yarn ends. Makes me feel so productive :-)
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I honestly never weave as I go – though I can see why some folk prefer that!
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There are projects that I don’t want to finish, simply because I enjoy making them so much, however it is quite liberating to finish something that has been long in the making because it frees me up to start something else.
As for darning in ends, it depends how many there are. Now I try to felt or ‘spit’ join where possible. This saves yarn and also darning. I always wonder what to do with the ends that are left. I hate throwing them away!
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I like my ends too. I put them in jars so that I can see them.
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I love to make things from leftover bits and pieces, however small they are. That usually involves lots of ends. Normally I make a pile of little things and then reserve one evening to sew in ends and finish them all. I am pleased to see the growing pile of yarn spagetti as well as the finished items.
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I do try to weave in some ends as I go, but sometimes it’s very satisfying to have the mindless finishing part to do. It helps me slow down, always a good thing.
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Love the colours of your yarn! ❤️I put my ends out for the birds in the hope they might weave them into their nests. They hang in a metal fat ball container on the tree.
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Your love for ends is totally understandable!
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
http://www.dressedwithsoul.com
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Believe it or not, I am on your side. I don’t LOVE to finish a project , however, I do enjoy the ends of the yarn as you stated. The colors I chose seem beautiful in their randomness. Also, my cat enjoys watching me “stitch and snip”. She likes the ends as much as I do…. The sense of accomplishment when I weave in the ends and block my project makes me feel sooo good. Especially during these difficult times, I feel a sense of control when a project has been completed. By the way, thank you for all your posts as I look forward to reading them. :)
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I too love the yarn spaghetti also for me it takes me back to childhood watching my Mum who sewed, embroidered or knitted most evenings and always had a bundle of ends on the sofa arm. Arthritis and a stroke has taken those skills away from her, they are a poignant memory now.
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I, too, have a strange satisfaction in weaving in ends and in the colourful little pile of wool that grows as a result of snipping. I find that I mildly dread the thought of ends as I’m knitting, but when I relax into my chair with my darning needle and snips, I find myself soothed and content. And then what a reward for my labour!
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Finally! Someone else! I knit and crochet, and particularly in the context of crochet blankets, there are lots of discussions etc online about having to weave in ends, do it as you go along, take a deep breath, the horrors…but I quite like it! I save up the ends, to do all at once, or sometimes as a treat I do a batch of it. And I love the yarn spaghetti too and I hate throwing them away – I often leave them in a bowl because they’re pretty!
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I make lots of stuffies for my grandchildren and use the ends to stuff them. I also enjoy remembering the yarns and their final projects.
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Me too!
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I do something similar with my quilting projects. I don’t sort the scraps, but I don’t empty my wastebasket until the project is finished. I enjoy seeing all the colors and prints jumbled together.
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I love lots of the things that many knitters seem to dislike: I enjoy sewing in ends, and also knitting miles of i-cord, and I find grafting particularly satisfying and relaxing.
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“Started so I won’t/ can’t finish” – not just in knitting… And I get distracted into making beginnings with those left-over ends… And when I was younger ( in my twenties, sooooo long ago), the best bit of a party was f inishing the leftovers… Yep, introvert! Don’t hold parties now…. ;-)
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I LOVE LOVE LOVE taking care of the yarn ends. before blocking! I have even done the duty for friends who simply can’t stand the process. I find it very relaxing and fulfilling, knowing, like you, that this project is almost done. You don’t want to do a sloppy job at this juncture of the project, right! Of course, I am not at all surprised that you love this part of knitting!!! Kate, you give so much to this community – I hope that you look in the mirror and smile happily at yourself, for all of the wonderful gifts you have given to us. I don’t always comment but daily I am inspired by your writing – thank you so very much.
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Finishing is a part of the process and I am OK with it. Ends look more interesting to me now…but my secret love (OK not so secret, my knitting group knows about it and is happy I have this strange little quirk) I love…LOVE unraveling a hot mess of tangled yarn! You know the skein that the dog thought was a toy or several yarns in a basket that had mysteriously tried to morph into a wad of yarn. I can sit for hours following one tread at a time coaxing it out and turning it into a well behaved ball or skein of yarn. some have taken more than a day, but it is my happy place and that it fine…much like getting back to a good book. I love touching every inch of it and feel calming the yarn calms me as well.
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I don’t specifically relish the thought of finishing a project and where possible I do knit / crochet ends in, although there is still the need to tidy up before blocking & the final finish. I too tend to watch / listens to podcasts or a favourite TV programme.
I do however love the tiny strands of yarn and mix of colours and hate the thought of throwing these away so I’ve started to keep them stored in a bag and use them for stuffing items such as knitted toys etc.
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Those lovely Land o Cakes trimmings. I take it a stage further. I roll mine into a little ball and stick them in my pocket, forget to take it out before washing and invariably end up with lovely wee marbled wool balls.
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its actually a different project that I’ve just completed – not LoC – but the palette is certainly quite similar!
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I’m with you on this, Kate. I’m a tapestry weaver and love the finishing process, needling in the ends and snipping them off. After the concentration of making a piece of work, I find it really relaxing and very satisfying to tidy up the back.
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Yep, I love sewing in ends too! And love how the spaghetti ends make different combos when piled on the table. All of that. Most satisfying!
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Yes Mary C Charlton, exactly my thoughts!
I love knitting, but hate the finishing. I am terribly impatient. However, one thing I have been trying to do in these difficult times is working a lot more slowly and ‘properly’. And finishing all those long neglected WIP’s and alterations that have been hanging around for literally years!
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I find it very pleasing too, my two girls like taking the ends and plaiting them to turn them into little friendship bracelets. This brings out pleasing colour combinations too.
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I also like to take time to complete the tidying up at the end of a knitting project, although I do try to tidy as I go. I save the resulting scraps of yarn and have a little tradition of leaving them on branches of shrubs in Central Park, in hopes that birds might include them in their nests.
Sadly, because I have been following the shelter at home protocols this spring because of Coronavirus, there was no yarn scattering this year. 2021 will be a bumper year for colorful nests!
Best wishes to you and yours.
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I share your enjoyment of finishing. Like anything else, it’s a skill that only improves the more one does it so it’s a little sad to hear so many knitters reject it. Finishing not only provides a sense of accomplishment but it also helps with darning, correcting any errors and even adding something extra.
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I don’t mind ends either but I do dislike sewing seams 😆
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I too share your enjoyment of finishing. Like anything else, it’s a skill that only improves the more one does it so it’s a little sad to hear so many knitters reject it as a horrible chore to be avoided at all costs. Finishing not only provides a sense of accomplishment but it also helps one understand darning and correcting errors. If the task seems daunting, using a couple of swatches to practice is a good option.
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The end is my favorite part as well. I find it calming, relaxing and so rewarding. And I know one ending signifies the beginning of something new.
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Can you bottle whatever it is you’re on?
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haha!
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I too love the pile of ends. As you say it offers up a different view of the colours and I often keep the pile for some time so that I can keep having another little glimpse. My mother was inspired by such a pile to do a little woven tapestry. I would post a photo but I don’t think that’s possible. However, I’ve never found a satisfactory way to weave the ends in neatly in stranded colour work. Any suggested tutorials?
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