Adding a Ball of Yarn
If you’ve ever knit a project that required more than one skein or multiple colors, the time always comes when you need to add a new ball of yarn. Unless you’re using a special technique, an important (and surprising!) rule of knitting is that you never tie a knot. Here’s our adding a ball of yarn tutorial where we show you how we do it.
NOTE: This technique also works when you encounter a slub, knot, thin spot, or break in your yarn. Simply cut your yarn at the trouble spot, and follow along with our video or step-by-step instructions below!
Click To See Video Transcript
Now that you’ve had some experience with knitting and purling, you’ll need to know what to do when you finish a ball or want to start a new color. An important and surprising rule of knitting is that you never tie a knot. Here’s what you do instead:
Stop knitting with the old ball when there are at least eight inches of yarn remaining. To begin the new ball, put the right needle into the next stitch. Fold the new yarn about eight inches from its end, and with the tail on the left. Place the loop of new yarn over the right needle with the tail coming out the back of the work. Pull the loop through the first stitch on the left needle and allow the stitch to fall off the needle just like a regular knit stitch. This leaves two tails, as well as loose stitches and a small hole in the knitting, but never fear you’ll weave in those ends later. Take a look at our tutorial on Weaving In Your Ends to learn how to do that.
Here’s a tip. Try to add the new ball close to the edge of your work so the woven in ends will be as inconspicuous as possible. We’ve done it in the middle here to clearly show the process.
ADDING A BALL OF YARN: STEP-BY-STEP
Stop knitting with the old ball when there are at least 8 inches of yarn remaining. To begin the new ball, put the right needle into the next stitch. Fold the new yarn, about 8 inches from its end and with the tail on the left.
Place the loop of the new yarn over the right needle, with the tail coming out the back of the work.
Pull the loop through the first stitch on the left needle and allow the stitch to fall off the needle, just like a regular knit stitch!
This leaves two tails, as well as loose stitches and a small hole in the knitting, but never fear, learn to weave in these ends here!
Tip: Try to add the new ball close to the edge of your work so the woven in ends will be as inconspicuous as possible. (We do it in the middle here to clearly show the process.)
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How do you add a new ball of super bulky yarn?
Hello Susan,
Thank you for reaching out! When adding Super Bulky yarn you will follow the same instructions- these instructions will work for any gauge of yarn. I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla
Hi from Italy!
I’m beginning the baby blanket right now…. I’m not sure about the colour change : what I have to do to have a nice join?
Thanks!
Hello Simonetta,
Thank you for reaching out! If your baby blanket has color blocks, the process is exactly the same as adding a new ball of yarn, except you will join at the beginning of the row rather than in the middle.
I hope this helps and let us know if you have any further questions!
Happy knitting,
Marilla
Any chance for a short video of this please.
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for writing in. Unfortunately we don’t have the resources at the moment to do a video tutorial of this. We will keep your request in mind though for the future!
Best,
Julianna
The last step leaves me hanging! I have read the Weaving In tutorial, but it does not address how to close the hole created by starting a new ball of yarn. Maybe they intended to do so, but as far as I can see it does not. Should I twist the ends of the two yarns together before weaving them each in in opposite directions? Or is there a more stable and effective way to close the hole?
Hi Kim,
Thanks for reaching out! Although twisting the ends together isn’t necessary, you will want to pull the tail on the right over the left and the tail on the left over to the right before weaving them in, so that they cross and pull the hole closed. Another way to join a ball of yarn without leaving a hole is to knit one stitch using the old ball and the new ball held together, and then continue on with the new ball of yarn. On the following row, you do need to remember to treat the double stranded stitch as just one stitch, but it’s quite easy and you can then weave the two tails in without any special actions to close up a hole.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
You frequently say “never tie a knot”, but you never say *why*, exactly. Could you explain? Also I have been working with several colors of Understory recently. Every skein has a knot tied somewhere in the middle. Do you recommend cutting the knot and creating two new ends to weave in?
Thanks,
Tricia
Hi Tricia,
Great question! There are two reasons that we say there are no knots in knitting! The first is that knots tend to work their way to the right side of the fabric – even if you are careful to tie your knot so that is on the inside of a garment such as a hat, they often want to pop out to the outside from the pressure of having a head inside of the hat. The second is that it’s not great to rely on a knot, even one that has been tied at the factory. It is just heartbreaking to have a knot come undone after weeks or even years of wear, resulting in a huge hole that has to be repaired! It is best to cut out any knots that have been made at the factory and rejoin your yarn using the method above so that everything is secure, but if you find that your yarn has an excessive amount of knots, please do contact us at [email protected] so we can look into it!
Best,
Julianna
Thank you Julianna ~ Not an excessive number of knots, but I have been using three different colors of Understory, 5-6 skeins of each, knitting sweaters, and EVERY skein has one knot in it.
Even so, I love Understory. It is soft, not scratchy, yet sturdy enough to lend stitch definition, and is warm, yet lightweight.
Hi,
In two blankets I have made (Chevron Baby, and Colorful Corner) I joined new yarn right at the start of the row. (Because I always believed this the best method.)
After weaving in ends, there are slight bumps on the edges where the new yarn was joined. The edge isn’t smooth like the opposite side where yarn was not joined. How can I avoid this? Is it better to join new yarn a few stitches in as opposed to right at the start?
Hi Natalie,
Great question! I prefer to join my yarns 3 or 4 stitches away from the edges due to this exact issue. It is possible to weave in ends invisibly when the new yarn is joined in the first stitch, but it’s quite tricky. You need to cross the two yarns and be very particular about your tension to avoid bumps on the edge, but it’s much easier if you just keep your ends a few stitches away from the selvages!
Best,
Julianna
Thanks for making this clear! I was always told to start a new ball a the beginning of a row, and I took it quite literally.
I suppose if it’s something with stripes, like the blankets I mentioned, one cannot avoid adding right at the first stitch. Correct? So, following your advice about crossing yarns….I will remember for the future.
Hi Natalie,
Yes, this rule only applies to adding a new ball of yarn in the same color! If you are changing colors, you do still have to add at the very first stitch, or second stitch if the first stitch is slipped to create a selvage. In these situations, it is helpful to practice how to cross the two yarns so the edge of the work looks tidy, but it’s so much easier to just join the new yarn a few stitches away from the edge if you can!
Best,
Julianna
I am knitting an item creating a chain stitch selvedge edge (i. e., slip the first stitch of every row purl-wise). How do I add a new ball of yarn when slipping the first stitch to create this edge.
Hi Lisa!
Thanks for reaching out! I’d recommend not starting a new ball at the very beginning of a row, but instead starting a few stitches in to not interfere with the slipped stitch at the edge of your project. Hope this helps!
Best,
Cassandra
Thanks so much for your quick answer, Cassandra! I’ve never added a new ball of yarn having used a slip stitch selvedge edge. Your expert advice makes perfect sense and provides me some much needed confidence. I didn’t want to distort the pretty edge.
I am working on an afghan with one colour throughout the project. I like to join my work generally so that the tails of each ball of yarn are on the wrong side of the work. I was wondering if there is a way to join the yarns on the wrong side of the work so I don’t have to waste any of the yarn, thus leaving the tails on the right side of the work until I weave the ends in at the end of the project. Of course, I would want the weaving to be done on the wrong side. I cannot find any tutorial or explanation about this. Thank you for your time.
I don’t understand the part about “pulling the loop through left stitch”.
I’m new at this!
Hi Patty,
Thanks for writing in! This just simply means that you are using the new yarn just as you would if it were the previous yarn, and knitting/purling the stitch!
I hope this clears things up, please let me know if you have any more questions!
Warmly,
Gianna
Since this yarn is 100% animal wool (cashmere is animal wool, right??), can I spit splice to join yarns??
Hi Jill,
Thanks for reaching out! You can certainly use the wet-splice technique with this yarn, though I would be careful doing so when working the color change sections, to ensure that you have a clean transition line! It might be easier with the Cashmere Ombre Wrap to join the new color by leaving a tail to weave in, but it’s definitely a personal preference!
Warmly,
Kelsey
Sorry, my previous comment related to the Cashmere Ombré Wrap, made from Jade Sapphire 100% Mongolian cashmere. I’m asking if I can use a spit-splice to join skeins (both to add yarn and make color change). Thanks.
Hi Kelsey,
I am working on a scarf with a basic knit 2, purl 2 pattern. I am almost done with my first skein of yarn. Is it any harder to add another ball of yarn with this pattern?
Thanks!
Betty
Hi Betty,
Thanks for reaching out! No, it should be just as easy! You can follow this tutorial to add in your next ball, I recommend adding it in when you are about to start a knit stitch!
Warmly,
Gianna
Hi, I’m doing the Learn to Knit scarf kit. The instructions don’t say when or if you should add the second ball of yarn in – is that just implied by the estimated size of the finished product? New to this!
Hi Clara,
Thanks for reaching out! You should start knitting with the second ball of yarn once you’ve gotten to the end of the first ball. Each scarf is designed to use up nearly the entirety of both skeins!
All the best,
Lili
I have just finished the first row of 7 in the New Super Easy Baby Blanket. The next color needs to be executed on the edge. Your photo is super clean edged and I can see no woven edges. Please tell me how you were able to do it!
Hi Phyllis,
Thank you for writing in! When adding a new ball of yarn on a row that begins with a slipped stitch, you slip the first stitch (in the old color) and begin knitting with the new color on the second stitch. Hope this helps clarify things!
Happy knitting,
Gavriella