How to Finish Crochet

You have to do something with those yarn ends when you're finished.

Once you complete a crochet project, your battle is half won -- the less tedious half. In a standard crochet pattern, you'll be told at least once to "finish off" or "end off." What does this mean? To wind up with a professional-looking crochet project, you'll need to weave the end of the yarn with a few different strokes.

Things You'll Need

• Crochet Hook (Size G, H, or I)
• Worsted Weight Yarn
• Yarn Needle

Instructions

1. To practice finishing a crochet project, you will either need a project or a crochet swatch. To make a swatch, chain 20 and work 4 rows of single crochet.

2. Make a chain stitch (ch 1), and cut your yarn about 2 to 4 inches from the chain. Remove your hook, and tug the yarn through the chain, pulling tightly to make it "knot" against the edge of your work.

3. Thread the end of your yarn through the yarn needle. Draw the yarn back, working your way between the stitches in the row or round closest to your needle. Weave the needle down under the stitches for at least 2 inches, then pull your needle and yarn through to the "outside" of the row.

4. Skip the last stitch you weaved under, and go back through the same stitches in the opposite direction for about 1 inch. Pull the needle and yarn through to the outside again, and tug just a little.

5. Cut the yarn close to the last stitch you wove under, and then pull the yarn just a little. This will draw up the yarn to make the end hide up under the last stitch.

Tips & Warnings

• Yarn needles have a very wide head and are usually rather blunt at the tip. Often, they're plastic.

• Several places on a crochet project might need the ends weaved in. When you start a project, you should be leaving a several-inch-long tail behind the starting chain, which is one end that you'll need to weave.

• Any time that you join a new yarn to your work, you will also want to leave a long end to weave in later.

References

• Knit Simple: Beyond the Basics Crochet Edges

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish