How to Weave in Yarn Ends in Crochet

I can’t tell you how many memes and jokes about weaving in the yarn ends I’ve seen on Facebook and Instagram and they are hilarious. Hilarious because they are so true – as crocheters and knitters we hate weaving in the ends and will do anything not to do it.

What does weaving in the ends mean?

Weaving in the yarn ends in crochet means hiding all the yarn tails left after your crochet project is complete. This is the cherry on the top and dot above the i.

Weaving in the ends is basically how to end crochet project. Without the ends weaved in and hidden the project will look messy and unfinished. The process also referred to us hiding the ends or hiding the tails.

What do you need to weave in the ends?

To weave in the ends in the crochet projects you will need a darning needle and a pair of scissors.

A darning needle, also called a yarn needle or tapestry needle, is a thick needle with a blunt end (not to split the yarn) and a large eye, big enough to feed the yarn through. Even though traditionally made out of metal, the yarn needles are most often are plastic needles, inexpensive and come in many colors.

Often they are bent tip needles, allowing for more comfortable work, especially with thicker crochet projects.

You can also use a crochet hook instead of the needles to hide the yarn ends, it’s all matter of preference. Weaving in the ends with a crochet hook also comes in handy when you don’t have a darning needle on hand.

Additionally, some makers use a clear flexible fabric glue to secure the very ends of the weaved in yarn so they don’t escape over time and use. This is especially useful with silky, slippery yarns that just trying to slip out any chance they get.

How to weave in the yarn ends in crochet with a needle

Here is how to weave in an end on a corner

How you will hide the ends will depend on your crochet pattern. When crocheting a project with corners, be it a blanket, scarf or a shawl, you will have corners that each have a single long tail yarn end left (the corner where you started the project or the corner where you ended it or both).

If you have just finished the project and still have the yarn attached, cut yarn leaving a 6-inch tail or enough yarn to be able to make several back and forth passes with a needle.

To weave in the end of yarn on the corner of a crochet project with a needle, first, make sure that all the ends are fastened off and secure.

Next, thread the yarn end through the eye of the needle.

After that, sew in the end through the last loop of your work and though the fabric of the project, by weaving the yarn between the stitches, going along the existing threads to keep your weaving as invisible as possible.

See the step by step photos below on how to weave the ends into the fabric of the project.

Go back and forth, and if possible, up and down with your yarn, hiding it in the work and making it secure for future use of your crochet creation.

Once you feel that enough of the yarn length is weaved in, use the scissors to snip off the leftover end of the yarn as close to the fabric is possible to get this invisible finish (be careful not to cut the actual fabric!)

Here is how to weave in the ends on the edge of a project

When it comes to the ends on the edge of the project, they usually come in pairs as this is where the yarn was joined because of a color change or a new ball of yarn added.

Since hiding the ends after changing yarn colors is trickier than the one where a new ball of yarn of the same color is added, I will show how to hide the yarn ends of two different colors. We will try to hide the yarn inside the same color to avoid an ugly edge.

First, tighten up the join that holds the two yarns together.

Next, decide where each end will be hidden. I usually weave the yarn ends into the side of the project that has the same or similar color to make sure the end is not visible once hidden.

I pass the yarn through the first and second stitch closest to the knot or join to make the yarn as invisible as possible. If your project has clear wrong and right sides, I try to pass the yarn on the wrong side of the project.

After that, I take one of the ends, thread it through the yarn needle and sew the end into the side of the project I decided on, weaving between the existing stitches going in opposite directions to make sure the yarn stays hidden and secure.

Once I feel that the yarn is secure enough, I snip off the remaining ends.

I repeat step with the other end until it’s well hidden too. Snip off the leftover end and enjoy finished results!

Here is how to weave in the ends in the middle of a project

Hiding the ends in the middle of a project is similar to weaving the yarn tail on the edge of a project.

In the same way as described in the previous section, decide where each end will be weaved in.

Using the yarn needle, sew in each end in the opposite direction from the other so no bulk is created.

For each yarn end, work it in back and forth in the area it’s being hidden, matching the color of the end with the color of the spot, if possible.

Once both ends are weaved in their respective locations, snip off the leftover ends.

Here is a quick and friendly video tutorial on how to fasten off and weave in the ends:

How to weave in the ends using a crochet hook

By using the crochet hook you are able to hide the yarn ends without using the needle. Weaving in the ends with a crochet hook is very similar to doing it with a needle, but here are some things I do when I use this method.

Use a smaller hook

First, use a hook that is smaller in size than the one used to make the crochet piece.

It makes it easier to glide between the existing stitches and easier to pull through the yarn ends.

It also prevents from disturbing the existing crocheted fabric by shifting the stitches around too much and creating holes in your work.

Pull/Weave along the existing stitches

Second, since the hook is not a needle, instead of sewing the yarn ends into your work, you are carefully pulling the ends through your existing work.

By pulling the yarn ends along the existing stitches and mimicking their design and direction, you can hide the ends really well.

Adjust the yarn as you go

Third, keep on adjusting the tension of yarn as you go to make sure you don’t pull on the yarn ends too hard. This will help you save your work from misaligned, strung too tight together or having too large of holes.

Here is how to weave in with a crochet hook

How to weave in loose ends while crocheting

If hiding the yarn ends with yarn needle or a hook AFTER you finished all that work on the project seems like a waste of time to you, you can consider to weave in the ends while crocheting.

This method is especially useful when working on crochet projects with a ton of ends, like a granny square blanket.

If a project uses a lot of squares, especially smaller ones, a decent-size blanket can end up with dozens if not hundreds of loose ends to weave in, and who wants to deal with that?

When you’re working with projects like these, weaving in the ends as you go can be a great option.

In this case, work the ends into your actual work by laying the ends along the row you are working and crocheting over it, effectively hiding it in your work.

The same goes for when you are joining granny squares together, you lay out the ends along the edge of two squares you are joining and crocheting over the yarn in the process.

There are several ways of hiding the loose yarn ends in your crochet project and each might be suitable for a certain project or just a matter of preference. Try each one and see which way of weaving in the ends in crochet works best for you.