Common Types of Joins

This needs more work, but here are a few types of joins. And yes, I know it needs illustrations – maybe someday, but it is a place to start for today.

Admitting to a certain amount of AR, I do NOT KNOT. Knots are best left to Knotting, Netting and Macrame. Nor do I “seal” knots with fabric glue. If others find these useful and they are satisfied with the result, that is fine, just not for me.

With any method, you of course will also need to take into consideration repeats in the colorway of the yarn itself – this is particularly important when working with self patterning yarns to avoid disconcerting oddities in the finished project final appearance.

Assuming you have read your pattern thru completely before starting (hint) you may want to use consider which join will work best for your project while making your pattern swatch (hint, hint, often not the gauge swatch)

In reverse order of what I use most often:

The SPIT or often more politely referred to as a FELTED join – is dependent on its fiber content to determine if it is useful for your project in hand. Internet myth/assertion to the contrary. Neither Superwash (wool treated so it can be machine washed without major shrinkage) or Plant based fibers, (cotton, hemp, linen, etc) or man made (acrylic, microfibers, etc) will felt. They may LOOK felted but first time they get stressed (normal wearing or washing) they will come undone. –
I am most likely to use the spit method only when working with Sheeps wool and only for joining the same color.

Sometimes, if only because it is what I was taught by the “Cookie Lady” – a neighbor who taught me to crochet AND who made the world’s best cookies of many many varieties….

Next is layering or feathering. When you still have a yard left (just to make the handling easier) Separate the plys for 6-8 inches by untwisting them. Now “feather” each ply to a different length. It helps if you can pull out the fibers a bit at a time so each ply ends in a point. This I learned from the owner of my first LYS experience (her shop was next to the place we got our school uniforms) Mrs Goldman of Goldman yarns, you can read a bit about her at:

Repeat for the new yarn to be joined. Now match up each ply with the complimentary size, (longest with shortest) by over lapping and twisting each ply together. When all there are twisted, twist all together. This really take longer to type than to do for most 3 ply yarns.
This will work for most yarns, and even for threads.

Last but not least, the second method I learned (about age 6) is the RUSSIAN JOIN. It may be you will find it, as I do, the most useful of all. The RUSSIAN JOIN will generally work with any type of yarn, With a bit of care and an extra step or two, it is possible to place the join rather precisely and this is especially important when color changes are involved.
If you “google” Russian Join – there are dozens of illustrations –

Enjoy The Making
Wheat

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