Weaving in Ends As you Work

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I can't imagine that there's anybody who considers weaving in ends one of their favourite jobs. There are various methods to do it as you knit, rather than having to wait 'till the end. It's easiest to do using the two-handed fair-isle technique, but can be done carrying both strands in the same hand, as well. I hope that my explanations and pictures make sense.

In this example, the main colour - white - is in my right hand, the colour to be woven - blue - in my left. 1. Slip your needle into the next stitch to be worked as you would normally do. Holding the main colour back, slip your right hand needle under the strand in your left hand,right to left.
2. You then take your main colour and wrap the st. as you would normally do.
This is the tricky part. It requires a little bit of wrist action, but with some practice, it becomes quite simple. 3. You rotate the needle slightly, so that it 'lets go' of the contrast colour. Now you should only have the strand you're actually knitting with on your right hand needle. Complete your st. in the regular way.
It can also be done with the main colour in your left hand, the contrast in the right. Blue is again the one to be woven in, white, the one in use. 1. Put your right needle into the st. as usual. Wrap the contrast colour around the needle in the opposite direction to the one you use to make a st..
2. Holding the contrast colour out of the way, wrap the main colour in the usual way, then take the needle out. Both strands are still on the right hand needle at this point.
3. You complete the process by slipping the contrast colour off the right hand needle. If you've done the entire procedure correctly, the contrast colour barely shows (lit's more likely to show through in looser knitting).

One of the most important things to remember with this technique is that you cannot do it with every st.. You have to have at least one st. that you've done normally.

I personally prefer the first method. I feel it's more efficient. However, it does have the drawback, for me, in that the main colour is being carried in the right hand, and since I taught myself continental, I've developed a complete dislike for carrying in my right hand. So, with a bit of experimentation, I discovered that I could carry both yarns in my left hand at the same time - not dropping and picking up. This method requires considrabley more maneuvering with the right needle, but it does let me carry in my preferred hand, and is transferable to fair isle and double knitting as well. (In case you're wondering, I'm actually right handed, so why I've developed this intense dislike for carrying right handed is a mystery to me.)

I am using the colours in the same way - white main, blue contrast. I haven't managed to figure out a way to use different finger for the different yarns, so both are lying along my left index finger.

1. Knit a couple of sts. with your main colour

After a couple of sts., your working yarn will be firmly in front of the contrast colour.

2. Using either your needle or your finger, push the contrast colour down alittle bit, and pick up the working yarn from the other side of it. You can alternate a couple of sts. on either side of the contrast yarn, or do a couple from in front, one in back.

This process weaves the two yarns together and can be used for as far as you like.

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