Joining on new yarn in knitting is a very simple procedure but there are a number of different situations in which it becomes necessary.

1. The first time you are likely to need to join in a new length of yarn is when running out of your first ball. In this case if you are working a flat piece on two needles the decision on how to join depends on the kind of knitting you are doing. In many cases you can just overlap the two yarns and work two or three stitches with both yarns, then let the ends drop and continue with the new yarn. This can be done at any point in the row and is a valuable join to use if you have a special edging on the work. Alternatively, you can lay the new end of yarn at right angles to the old end, tie a couple of overhand knots with the new end and pull the knot right up the old yarn to lie close to the knitting. Then knit with the new yarn as normal. In both cases, you will have ends to darn in and it is now considered to be good practice, if you used the knot method, to undo the knot and darn the ends in invisibly following the line of the stitches. Be careful if using a variegated yarn such as Noro to match up the colour changes appropriately.



2. Alternatively, you can splice the yarn. Separate out the plies of both ends of yarn (the new one and the old one), trim back around half of the plies in each end of yarn (depending on how many plies you have - if the yarn is 3 ply, remove 1 ply from 1 end and 2 from the other), then place the two yarns together so that the plies overlap completely. Now dampen the palms of your hands and roll the yarns together between your hands until they roll together. This method of joining can be used in any style of knitting - lace, or whatever you are doing - and you will have a smooth line of thread with a join which is relatively invisible.



3. If working in the round, use either the method of overlapping the ends of thread or splice, whichever is most appropriate.



4. Finally, you will need to be able to join in a new end of yarn in the middle of a row or at an edge. If I need to join into a stitch in the middle of a row, I hook the needle through the stitch below it, tie the new thread on with a double overhand knot and continue knitting (with socks using a Turkish heel I don�t use a knot at all but just start knitting and darn the end in later but this can result in a very loose stitch at the beginning of the section which is difficult to control - you can always use a knot and undo it later if you want to). If I�m joining on an edge, into a cast off stitch, I hook the needle under the two threads of the cast off stitch and draw the yarn through, then tie on as usual. Finally for joining onto a knitted selvedge I hook the yarn under both threads of the stitch and tie it in.