Sometimes you can get so lost in your knitting project that you’re weaving to and from without a second thought. If your yarn happens to break all of a sudden, don’t give up on your project. There are ways you can salvage your knitting so you can finish what you’ve started.
There are a couple of very simple ways you can rejoin your yarn together so that you can pick up where you left off, going back to fix any flaws later. Some types of yarn seems to break without exerting much effort which can quickly turn your knitting time from relaxing to stressful.
Knowing what to do when your yarn breaks while knitting and finding ways to prevent this frustrating issue will make it so that you never have to discard an unfinished knitting project again.
How Do You Rejoin Broken Yarn?
A lot of knitters will often tie their yarn back together and continue with their pattern, but the issue with this method is the knot could end up coming apart. The better option is to use a couple of handy tricks to join your broken piece with your ball of yarn and fix any gaps afterwards.
One method that’s a little more trustworthy is simply knitting your new yarn into your broken piece. You can do this by leaving about 6 inches of your old yarn hanging, while grabbing your new yarn and continuing your project. When the yarn is rejoined, you can weave that hanging piece of yarn into your pattern seamlessly with a tapestry needle.
Another option you can try that’s a little bit more complicated is to leave about 10 inches of the yarn you’re using in your pattern free. Then, you take a strand from your ball of yarn and hold it together with your old piece in your hands. Knit these two pieces together about three times, continue your pattern, and weave together any gaps after you’re finished.
Why Is My Yarn Breaking?
Yarn is much more fragile than it seems when you’re working with single strands. Consequently, you need to be fairly gentle when you’re knitting with it. It’s easy to pull your yarn with a little too much power while you’re working away. However, if you can alter your methods just a little bit to be a little kinder to your yarn, you can avoid some breakage.
Sometimes yarn will break because it’s poor quality. This could be because of the material that was used to create the yarn. Unfortunately, some materials that are cheaper to produce like synthetics can be much more frustrating to work with. As such, springing for quality may actually end up being more cost effective so you’re not wasting so much yarn because it breaks.
Your yarn might also break constantly because of an issue with manufacturing. Small strands of yarn need to be spun together very tightly on a skein so that the little strands don’t fray or snap with ease. If these thin fibers are constantly coming out of the strand of yarn because of poor spinning, you’ll find your yarn snapping with relative ease.
Which Yarn Will Not Break Easily?
Wool is by far one of the best yarns that doesn’t break easily. However, wool can be expensive, so it’s not always the most accessible choice. Other types of yarn that hold together pretty easily include acrylics and acrylic blends, wool blends, and alpaca.
Tehete makes top quality wool yarn, that’s also very affordable.
Yarn that is created with longer fibers also tends to hold up much better than its shorter counterpart. Through the manufacturing process, longer fibers are able to be spun tightly without having to use so much pressure, keeping them nice and secure as you knit away.
One way you can test out some yarn before you use it is by unraveling a strand from the ball and playing with it. Try gently tugging on it and seeing how easily the fibers separate. This will give you a good indication of what that particular yarn will be like to work with.
Can You Unravel And Reuse Yarn?
If you have some knitwear that you don’t like or use but you love the yarn used, consider recycling that yarn by unraveling the item and repurposing the yarn for another project. It is a little bit time consuming, but the effort is absolutely worth it. Some knitters will even thrift knits to do this, as it can be a cost-effective and environmentally-conscious way to source yarn.
Not all knitted pieces will be easy to unravel, and some might be impossible. Look for knits that aren’t felted together or weren’t cut into their shape and sewn together. Wool pieces and wool blend pieces will likely be easiest to work with. Anything with non-knitted seams is also likely to be impossible to unravel.
To unravel a piece of knitwear to reuse the yarn, the best place to start is at the arms. Simply pick at the knitted seams and slowly pull the strands of yarn apart. Some pieces can be unraveled very quickly depending on the way it was knit together. A simple stitch picker is the perfect tool. Best practice is to work against the direction of the knit and work slowly.
Once you’re done, you’ll have a pile of loose pieces of yarn. You’ll want to very tightly wind this up in order to form it into a skein of yarn that you can subsequently knit with.
Final Thoughts
Having to deal with broken yarn can be annoying when you’re in the groove of things, but the good news is that fixing it isn’t complicated. You don’t have to leave your beloved project unfinished. As long as you are somewhat gentle with your yarn, it shouldn’t continue to break on you.
Yarn comes in all kinds of materials and blended materials, some of which are more trustworthy than others when it comes to staying intact. However, technique is going to be your best friend when it comes to avoiding breaks in your yarn.
Make sure to follow my tips and recommend products to ensure your knitting project turns out amazing! Also, don’t forget to check out my other articles for all your Q&A’s. Happy knitting!