BASIC TECHNIQUES
BASIC TECHNIQUES
A
fter all your crochet efforts, it’s
worth taking the time to finish your
work properly, so that it doesn’t
unravel on you!
Once you’ve worked the last stitch in a
pattern, you’ll be instructed to ‘fasten off’.
Follow the steps below to safely pull the
yarn tail through the final loop and secure it.
You’ll then be left with a 15cm (6in) tail endof yarn here, and also at the start of your
project, where you made the slipknot.
These ends will look rather straggly
unless you do something with them. To
create a neat finish, patterns will instruct
you to ‘weave in ends’. This simply involves
weaving yarn ends through the backs of
stitches on the wrong side of your work,
using a large-eyed needle with a blunt tip.There are no strict rules about how to
weave in the tail ends of yarn – they just
need to be secure and invisible from the
front. It’s a good idea to weave the yarn tail
in different directions to prevent it from
being pulled out over time. Once you
progress, you’ll find that it’s possible to
work stitches over the starting tail end so
there’s less weaving in to do at the end.2
FASTEN OFF
& WEAVE IN
Secure and neaten the ends of your finished project
1
After working the last stitch, you’ll have one
loop left on your hook. Cut the yarn leaving
a long tail, measuring around 15cm (6in) long.
Wrap this yarn tail around the hook.2
Use your hook to pull the yarn all the way
through the stitch. Remove the hook and
pull the yarn tail to tighten up the loop and
secure it.3
Thread the tail end of yarn onto a tapestry
needle. On the wrong side, weave the
needle in and out of the back of the stitches in
one direction.4
Weave the needle in the other direction, in
and out of the back of the stitches. Repeat
this process to secure the tail end, making sure
that the woven yarn is not visible from the right
side of the fabric.