Loose strings

[Katka]

Hi!

I need help! I crochet a blanket with letters and now I have hundreds of loose strings and I don’t know what to do with them. Can anyone help me please to find the best way of hiding/ sewing … them? Thanks a lot. Kat

[Lacycrochet]

Welcome to Crochetville Kat,

Here is a tutorial on how to tie in your ends.  It is the least fun thing to do in crochet but it is necessary.  We have a show and tell forum for the members to post pictures of our finished projects.  We love to see other members crochet pieces, feel free to post a picture if you are comfortable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbyVpaT1JxM

 

[Granny Square]

"Least fun but necessary" bears repeating.  For a blanket, you want to leave probably 6" ends to weave in securely with a tapestry needle, in several directions.  Don't just rely on a knot or a couple of inches of weaving, that is not going to be secure. 

Sorry to sound a little lecture-y but I want you to enjoy your blanket for many years and machine washings and not be crestfallen when it falls apart after the first few washings.  I wish I had a dollar for every post I've seen asking for help to put a blanket back together when this happens, I wouldn't be rich but I could buy a lot of yarn...

Edited to add, if you don't have a tapestry needle, it would be a good idea to invest in one.  It's a thick-ish needle with a large eye;  they even have plastic ones that work fine; I have some but prefer to use my sharper metal needle.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Granny Square

[blanketmakingwoahman5]

Hi Kat,

I understand how frustrating it can be when you have hundreds of loose strings after crocheting a blanket with letters. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can hide or sew them. 

The first option is to weave the strings into the back of the blanket. This is a great way to hide the strings and make sure they don’t unravel. To do this, you’ll need to use a tapestry needle and thread the strings through the back of the blanket. This will help to secure the strings and make sure they don’t come undone. 

Another option is to use a crochet hook to sew the strings together. This is a great way to make sure the strings are secure and won’t come undone. To do this, you’ll need to use a crochet hook to loop the strings together. This will help to secure the strings and make sure they don’t come undone. 

Finally, you can use a sewing machine to sew the strings together. This is a great way to make sure the strings are secure and won’t come undone. To do this, you’ll need to use a sewing machine to stitch the strings together. This will help to secure the strings and make sure they don’t come undone. 

I hope this helps! Good luck with your project!

[Granny Square]

Katka, another thought - for your next project consider joining ends with a braided join or a Russian join as you go, so you don't have a  mountain of ends at the end.  They are both done by overlapping the ends over each other and either braiding or hand sewing the ends  together back toward their respective yarn balls.  They both work great, I've used both, and there are lots of youtubes that show how they are done.  They are very simple to do, and (to me) are well worth pausing to do this between color or skein changes, than to leave all the annoying fuss until the end.

You would think these methods would stick out like a sore thumb, but trust me they are quite invisible; even when I know where to look for them, they are very hard to spot.  And I've never had one fail.  I mostly use these joins for garments that get tossed in the washer and dryer many times each winter, and they've survived many winters.  

These don't require any planning ahead when you are joining 2 balls of the same color, but it does (a little)  when joining 2 colors - you just have to be careful to place the join in just the right spot (which might require working to the end of a row, working the new join right there, and unraveling the last few stitches of the old color to finish the join, and re-doing the few stitches you unraveled).  

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Granny Square