Wet Splice (aka Spit Splice)
I’ve always been reluctant to try the so-called “Spit Splice,” obviously because of its name. But when I first knit with Purl Soho’s Gentle Giant yarn, it occurred to me that I would finally have to meet this technique… And if all went well, to rename it! All did go well. In fact, it went great, and so, we introduce the Wet Splice! It’s a wonderful alternative to weaving in ends when you’re using yarn that easily felts. Gentle Giant is a perfect candidate because it does just that, plus it’s so bulky that weaving in its ends is unsatisfying at best. I took the spit out of this splice, but if you find yourself in a jam, a quick suck on the ends of your yarn does do the job and is unlikely to kill you! -Whitney
First, splay open the last inch or two of each end of the yarn you want to splice together.
Remove some of the fibers from each end, so that the join won’t be too thick.
Dip each end into a glass of water. Try to just moisten the ends, not saturate them.
Overlap the two ends and rub them somewhat vigorously with a (clean) hand over a taut piece of (colorfast) fabric, like the pants you’re wearing! You could also rub them back and forth between your hands.
The friction you create will felt the two ends together in a nearly seamless bond.
There’s a Wet Splice in here somewhere, but I don’t see it!
Try the Wet Splice when you make our free knitting pattern, the Four Points Baby Blanket in our single-ply, chunky weight, 100% merino yarn, Super Soft Merino.
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I use wet splicing all the time. I love its’ utilitarian nature, using up all your yarn to the very end. You can use it on skinny wool and thick wool. Thanks for sharing. Meg
Wow I think you are right ,I about to try wet splice on my next project. I knit and crochet and just finished a hat that I could have used this technique , yet there is always the next one….thanks for sharing this!
I can see how this would work for attaching a new skein of yarn, but I don’t see how this works for weaving in ends. Sorry. Could someone explain and/or show a photo please?
Hello, Vickie!
Thank you so much for writing in! This works in place of weaving in ends. The wet-splice method eliminates the need to weave in a bunch of tails at the end of a project since this method seamlessly joins the old skein with the new skein as your knitting. Does that make sense? If you have further questions, please let us know!
Best,
Kumeko
This is a fantastic solution to a problem that I have never been able to solve properly. I’m assuming and hoping that this splice stays together throughout washing, use, etc. of the project it’s being used on. It seems a little tenuous, but if Whitney and the rest of you say it works, good enough for me.
Judi
I have used this technique with yarns that are primarily wool in fiber content, but can you provide some information about fibers with which it works best and for which it does not work. A fellow knitter said no for anything other than wool. Thanks,
Hi Melissa,
Your friend is correct. The wet splice technique only reliably works with 100% wool yarn. It also does not work with yarn that is superwash as in the case of superwash yarns, the scales on the wool fibers that lock together are chemically striped. Any yarn that is feltable will work for the wet splice technique.
I hope that this clears things up!
Cassy
I’m searching for information on a sewn splice, and came to this technique. However, it seems like the wet splice is something different as it used with wool. My pattern uses linen yarn, flat tape. Could sewn splice have another name?
Hi Leslie,
Thanks for writing in! You are using the correct terminology. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a good resource for a sewn splice for you. Our wet splice only works for non-superwash wool. The sewn splice that you are referring to is most frequently used for tape yarns that are either cotton, silk or linen. To achieve this sewn splice or join, overlap the new and old yarn by 1-2 inches and use a needle and sewing thread of a similar color to sew the two ends together.
I hope that this information is helpful!
Cassy
thanks Cassie – that is exactly the type of yarn I will be using, and it sounds like the best method. I appreciate the help!
Hello,
I know it’s been a few years, but I just read this post as well as your comment/question… and here is what I found on a sewn splice : https://ontheneedles.com/tag/sewn-join/
Haven’t tried it myself, but it intrigued me, I couldn’t resist doing the research! 😉
As someone else suggested further down, the Russian join is interesting too. However, it is very different from the sewn splice as described in the blog post I just provided the link to.
Hope this helps! Cheers! 🙂
Would this join work for the cashmere ombre wrap?
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your question. Technically the wet splice should work for cashmere but it doesn’t always work that well. The best yarn to use the wet splice on is wool. Also, you wouldn’t want to use the wet splice on the ombre wrap because you’d see the color change mid row. Best of luck!
-Adam
This technique is downright ingenious! I have looked high and low for a method like this. Thank you so much for sharing!
The system is not accepting my password. Because I may have forgotten, it I clicked on the “forgot password” link and waited to receive an email with instructions. It’s been five hours and I haven’t received the “helpful” email.
Thanks,
S
Hi Sylvia,
Sorry of rate delayed response! Did you ever get that email? If not, please send us an email at [email protected] and we’ll clear this issue up, ASAP! Thank you for writing in!
Best,
Kumeko
This looks great for splicing two of the same colours together. How would this look when joining two different colours? If the splice is at a particular spot, like the end of the row, how would it be planned to ensure it happened at the right spot?
Thanks,
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for writing in! We recommend the wet splice for joining the same color together. For two different colors, this may not be the best technique. I generally will just weave my ends in after the fact when I am joining a new color. If you were to join two colors using a wet splice, you will not be able pinpoint exactly where in your knitting it will fall, it will also not provide a seamless color join.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Is the sewn splice maybe the same as the russian join. I have found that to work very well. Not in the case of all yarns and threads but when it works you can hardly tell there was a join. I am working with Gentle Giant yarn now and getting ready to do my first wet splicing.
Hi Kathryn,
Thanks for the question! I’ve never heard of a “sewn splice” and couldn’t find any info on it online. The Russian Join is a great technique, but requires more finesse than the wet splice. For the Gentle Giant, since this it is a single-ply, lightly spun wool, you’ll definitely want to wet splice to join ends. It works like a charm!
-Adam
I have used this technique on the Gentle Giant and I think it works beautifully. I am wondering if this will work with Super Soft Merino. Thanks.
Hi Quynh,
Thanks for writing in! This technique will absolutely work for Super Soft Merino! It will work for non-superwash wool yarns. It works particularly well for single ply yarns like Gently Giant and Super Soft Merino.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Hello. Fascinating to see the splice process. I have been on wet felting courses in the past. The process shown here is a simplified version of how the fleece (wool) is treated when wet felting. Will try it next time I need to join wool . smarter than my usual knots !
Where has this tutorial been all my life! I dislike weaving in ends and I hate running out of yarn in the middle of a project…this solves both problems! I like being able to use ALL of my yarn!
Thanks so much for this tutorial!
Hi !
I just tried this technique for the first time. It was super easy and seems to work great; thanks for posting it on your site!
I do have 2 questions:
1) is it preferable to use warm/hot water over cold? Does one or the other give better results?
2) how long do you recommend for the ends to be?
Tks!
Heather B
Hi Heather,
Thanks for writing in! For this technique, warm water tends to work a little better. essentially, you are felting the two ends of your yarn together. The main ingredients in felting are heat and friction. The water need not be hot but warm is helpful! Additionally, you will want to use the last inch or two of each end of the yarn you want to splice together.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Hello,
I was so happy to find your wet splice tutorial. I have used it on several projects now and it is wonderful not having those big bulky knots and ends to weave in! Purl Soho are the go to knitting guru’s so my question is this – can you wet splice 100% cotton yarns. I recently acquired several skeins of bulky cotton yarn (made in Italy) which is lovely and soft – BUT, it already has joining
knots in it (sigh) and naturally in addition to those knots which are less than ideal I will need to join the skeins. Wet splicing would be the perfect answer but I am reluctant to experiment as I don’t think I will have “extra” yarn and don’t want to waste any. What is your experience with this and what would you recommend? Thanks!
Hi Val,
Thanks for writing in and for your kind words! The wet splice technique only reliably works with 100% wool yarn. It also does not work with yarn that is superwash as in the case of superwash yarns, the scales on the wool fibers that lock together are chemically striped. Any yarn that is feltable will work for the wet splice technique.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
Worked very well on a super bulky 100% cashmere that am using to make Swirling Cowl.
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/swirling-cowl
It worked beautifully–the secret was to pull out a few strands of the yarn to reduce the bulk. I can’t see the spice at all.
My grandmother was an earthy knitter and spit on thread ends (and even made “spit curls” in my hair), so I’ll continue to call is a “Spit Splice,” even though I usea glass of warm water instead of, well, spit!
Could not find the link to the Russian join link that was referenced above. Please send! Thanks
Hi Terry,
Thanks for reaching out! We do not have a tutorial for the Russian Join; however, if you search for Russian Join in your web browser, you will find quite a few videos and tutorials demonstrating this technique!
Best,
Julianna
I wet splice joins all the time, but I’m wondering how to change colors in Gentle Giant. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi Joanna,
Thanks for reaching out! Although a wet splice is great for joining a new ball of the same color, I would not recommend using a wet splice to change colors as you won’t have perfect control over where the color change ends up and the change will be blurry instead of crisp. Instead, I would just drop the old color and start knitting with the new color without tying a knot or using any special method. This will result in a small hole, but you can easily close it up by crossing the two tails over each other when you weave in your ends.
I hope that helps!
Julianna
Thank you. I was pretty sure that was what I had to do.
Although the water in a glass may seem more sanitary, never disparage the value of ‘spit’ … the enzymes in saliva may actually combine with those in the wool yarn to provide a better join. Saliva will also chomp away on mold. Importantly, one’s own saliva will most effectively dissolve one’s own blood stains … an old-time remedy quilters all used to know.
That’s so interesting, thanks for the info. Did my first spit splice today and it worked like a charm!
Exactly right. I used to make curtains and if a pin went awry, we would break off a length of white thread and “chew” on it until it was moistened then roll it back and forth over the blood spot. Worked every time even on fabric you wouldn’t DARE get anywhere near water.
Does this technique work for your Purl Burnish (https://www.purlsoho.com/burnish.html) yarn? I am assuming not since that’s 100% rayon/bamboo? Thank you!
Hi LL,
Thanks for reaching out! That is correct, this technique only works with fibers that felt easily (wool fibers) like out Gentle Giant and Super Soft Merino so it would not work with Burnish.
All the best,
Gianna
Thanks for the reply on the Burnish question. Would this technique work for lighter weight yarn like the Tussock and the Linen Quill?
Thanks again!
LL
Hi LL,
Thanks for writing in again! The wet splice technique may work for Linen Quill since it is a wool based fiber. However, the technique works best with a single ply yarn! It wouldn’t work with Tussock though, due to the silk content and how fine the yarn is!
I hope this helps!
Gianna
Hi Gianna, how would you suggest adding another ball/joining another strand of yarn for Tussock? As it’s so fine, do you think tying a knot would be ok?
Thank you,
LL
Hi LL,
Thanks for writing in again! Typically when I knit with Tussock I join in another ball similar to our Adding a Ball of Yarn tutorial! I find that i don’t need to tie a knot since the mohair does such a great job of holding on to itself and then I weave in my ends like in our Weaving in Your Ends tutorial!
I hope this helps, happy knitting!
Gianna
So happy to see the name of this, l thought the spit part was my guilty secret. I’ve been joining all my yarns like this for decades. I hate sewing in!
My method is slightly different though.
I split the old and the new yarns in half lengthwise for about 6″(15cms). Then l dampen them and twist them together between my palms as best l can and knit as usual. I tuck the unused halves of the yarn at the back of my work and snip them off when I’ve finished. Of course you can snip as you go but, doing it at the end means l can just keep knitting. I find by using the longer threads, it works with any yarn that you can split, not just ones that will felt as the stitches lock it into place.
Would love to know if you have tried the magic/invisible knot for joining and what you think of it.
I can’t quite bring myself to trust it.
I’m making a Swath Wrap in the Violet bundle.
Will the Wet Splice technique work for your Flax Down and Linen Quill?
The Flax Down is such a soft and sumptuous yarn. I really enjoying this project!
Hi Robin,
Thank you so much for your question and kind words! The Wet Splice technique will totally work for Flax Down and Linen Quill. Hope this was helpful and have a great day!
All the best,
Catherine
Hello.
Might seem like a stupid question but do you wait for the yarn to dry out before using it?
Using Gentle Giant. Love this yarn!
Hi Grace,
No such thing as a stupid question! I think it would be totally fine to start knitting before the yarn is completely dry. The fibers will be tightly interlocked already, so there won’t be any chance of the yarn ends splitting apart!
All the best,
Lili