Sewing in ends can be a headache and if you need to sew a particular end into the body of your knitting it may well show unless done carefully. Sewing up knitting is something a lot of knitters really hate, but good making up is always important and can enhance the finished item. It's worth taking the time to learn to do it well.

When sewing in ends on the purl side of stocking stitch, take the needle down through several rows of knitting, picking up loops on alternate rows.

Then pull the needle out taking the yarn with it.

Trim the end of the yarn close to the work with a pair of sharp scissors.

Normally if I'm near a seamline that will be hidden within a garment, I take ends down through the nearest seamline selvedge, but when you have to sew in an end that's in the middle of a large area of fabric with no seam in sight this is a good way which works well. It also works for scarves and stoles though with the fine lace scarves you will need to track the end through the stitches following the path of the yarn, otherwise the sewn up end will show but do be sure to take the yarn through the stitches for two to three inches.

I was once shown a scarf which an office colleague was wearing that she had bought from a market, and all the ends had come undone. They were cut off far too short and had not been knotted together or anything for security, so the knitting stitches were coming undone. To avoid a disaster like this, always ensure that you darn in a good distance so that the ends won't come undone - joining in ends securely will be discussed in another article. Fortunately I was able to fix the scarf for my colleague and she was delighted.

This excellent reference book has masses of information about knitting techniques. It illustrates all the basic techniques and has a huge range of different ways to cast on and off and increase and decrease. A must for any knitter's bookcase!

This is another very good book which contains reference information on all the basics of how to knit and finish off a garment or item.