If you watch his other videos on the Weavin' Stephen, he recommends that you start weaving in the new end a ways before, then when you start knitting with the new yarn, it's already woven in, and you just weave in the old yarn tail after that, so it's only one end at a time.

I wasn’t loving the fabric distortion with the weavin Stephen. I’m so happy I came across your tutorial. ❤ Thank you.

I entirely agree. It's so much neater in most cases to weave them in separately. (and I wish we could stop calling it "weavin' stephen". It's just weave in as you go and the technique has been around for centuries).

As a Fairisle hat knitter I always use the method you demonstrated because I hate weaving in dozens of ends at the end. Sometimes it is annoying if you are changing colours a lot but it is so much easier than Stephen’s method. In fact I haven’t seen his tutorial, just came across yours and was pleased to find I am doing something right! Thanks

I think I have being both methods for over 40 years. I was knitting an intarsia piece that had over 10 different colors. It was a nightmare to think to go back and use a darning needle to secure all the ends, so I just weaved in the ends as if to catch the floats method or the "weave-in-Steven" way. I never thought it was a "thing" until I started watching Mr. West's videos. But thank you for confirming that I have been on the right track for solving these problems.

Love this! It is even easier if you can carry the cut end in your left hand like in 2 handed color work. I have been doing it but with both ends at the same time so I learned the final step I needed from this (weave in the new end the second row down!) Many thanks and happy knitting!🥳🧶😻😂

Agreed, this method is much better. It's known as the Philosopher's Wool method (or at least that's how I learned it from the Knitmore Girls years ago). Very fast with two handed colorwork or if you're weaving in a long end!

Thank you for saying this! I completely agree. I loved Weavin’ Stephen at first, and I do find it works well for stockingette. But then on garter projects I started majorly noticing that distortion you talk about; it’s huge and hideous in my opinion. I ended up developing a very similar method as you to deal with it! Thanks for sharing this!

I call this the knitting tip of the century! Many, many thanks! 🥇🏆🥇

Thank you so much for this tip, I will definitely use it in my next project 😍

So clever! Thanks!

Thank you, I agree that the gaps you get with the Weavin Stephen are annoying, so from now on I'll use the technique you just showed! 😊😊😊

For someone who’s never tried catching floats… this method is wonderful. Now I can try color work too. Thank you 😊

Yay! I’ve been doing this for years, kind of inventing it myself. I’m so happy to see you teaching this method! 😊

YES! I've been using this method since I started Fair-Isle work. Since I can knit both continental and American (?!) style, I hold the thread to be floated with the index finger of the left hand and hold it in front of the needle while I flick the other color around. Before pulling the stitch through, my left index finger just moves the floating thread back. Hard to explain but easy to do.

Thank you for this! I’ve tried this method before but could never really grasp it. This was so helpful and now I know for a fact I’ll be able to do this. Thanks for the helpful video!

Excellent information :) thank you! I have about a zillion ends to weave in on my new cardigan as I striped a secondary alpaca silk along with the lettlopi yarn and changed the color every four garter ridges! So this technique would have been so helpful in the beginning! I have started about three new projects to avoid having to resume knitting on that project but now I have a solution for the alpaca silk ends on the sleeves and hoodie when I resume :)

Brilliant. Thank you!

Fabulous - love this tip! 😊

This is fab!! Thank you! 💚🧶

Love this! Thank you for sharing.

I just started a scrappy blanket, and I’m so happy I stumbled across your video! I keep hearing « weave in your ends as you go » but didn’t know what that meant. #newishknitter

I do frequently use this method for joining a new ball of yarn. It's especially helpful when you're working in the round because if you lock in the end of your new yarn a little bit before you reach the joint and then lock in the old yarn as you're working with the new yarn, you can really effectively avoid the gap that you would normally see in stockinette in the round. However, I would not necessarily call. These locked in. The yarn is effectively just laying in a channel behind the knit stitches. If you find the beginning of that yarn where you joined, you can actually just pull that strand right out of your knitting. I think for stickier woolly yarns it's probably not going to be an issue. However, if you're working with cotton or acrylics, i would not rely on this method on its own. I typically do this to basically spread apart where my ends are and then weave them normally afterwards. This way I don't have to try and leave two strands at the exact same spot in my piece.

Thank you! Such a good idea! Bless you for sharing!

Thank you so much! This was great!

Very good idea of yours! ❤

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!

Very good tutorial. Thank you

Thanks for your video. That’s how I do it.

Thank you so much for such a detailed video!

I love that technique and use it whenever changing colors.

I am so happy that I came across your KZfaq video, because I didn’t like Stephen West method, I weaved in my Clue 1 ends (manually afterwards) it took me SOOO…. long… Now for the rest of my life I will use your method. THANK YOU SO MUCH to share this with us !!!

Exactly what I do never having watched weavin Steven

Oh this is so great, love you for showing us this. I usually do it at the end, a real overwhelm when you use a lot of different yarns. Eager to try this for sure. Blessings!

Love this technique thank you for sharing

Thanks for showing us 😊

This is exactly how I do it and your video makes it so clear, thank you! My test knitters for a new design wanted a good visual demonstration of this technique and I'm so happy and grateful to be able to share your video!

Fabulous technique

Great technique! Thanks

Thank you! I just might tackle a color work sweater now:)

I've always preferred the 'locking in my stitch' method. Thank you for your tutorial - concise and easy to follow.

Good video, people should appreciate your technique, blends in so well.

This is genius! Thank you!❤

This is a very great method. I will use it fron now on. Thank you!

Looking forward to trying this.

Omg!!!....wowow....ive been doing his method for a long time but i did find the same issue...so happy to have found this! Thank you! ❤❤❤❤

That works and looks so much better, Thankyou so much❤

What a great option!❤

Thanks a lot for this. Sooooooo....helpful.❤

Thank you for reminding me of this technique. I use it with stranded colourwork but hadn’t thought of using it for the Geogradient shawl. I never use the weaving Stephen method as I find it is not very pretty and looks sloppy (sorry Mr West). I usually prefer to weave the ends by following the stitches. I have tried it this week (i had the shawl in time out) and I like how it looks. I wish I had thought of it sooner 😅

Muchísimas gracias! Aplicare tu técnica a mi Mkal!

This is awesome…thank you!!

This was a great demonstration for locking in the floats. I never understood it because I was knitting the end, so it didn’t work. Now I understand what they meant by over under. Thank you.

Thank you for the helpful tip.

Brilliant I wondered why he was doing it that way I use this technique for stripes period Either he did it for simplicity with newer knitters or he is not as smart as he thinks he is Thankyou for for better method

Excellent, thank you! 🎉

Great technique! Also great for joining a new ball!!

Left handed weave in Stephen. Thank you so much. I have been doing this some of the time but not consistently but I'll do this for part 3 other side plus clue 4. Thank you for taking the time to record and share

A much better idea. I wish that I had found this earlier in the MKAL. Thank you

So pleased I’ve seen this, wasn’t happy at all with the WS effect as it shows so much on the back. I’ll be using your method from now on, thank you

I tried your way and, to me, my fabric laid flatter and it looked much neater on the backside. THANK YOU for your tip! 👍

Wow. Thank you !

I'm a new subscriber, and I'm so pleased to see that I've been knitting exactly the same way as you do with the floats. I thought that it was my idea 😅 but now know that it isn't 😂 My Nana taught me to knit when I was young. I'm thinking that she probably taught me that way too! Thank you so much.

Great technique- thank you for the video

Thank you for a clear instruction of this technique. xxJane 🐑

Brilliant!

thank you, thank you! that distortion really bugged me, but i didn’t know any other way to work the ends. now i do. yay!!

I like this method. will have to use it on my next project (not doing the MKAL this year unfortunately).

I’m glad that there are choices. I use Weavin-Stephen’s method sometimes. Choices are a good thing. This method you are using is nice too.

Yes! This is how I do mine-except, I hold the weaving thread in my left hand.

Agree; that is the method I have used before I heard of Steven's method...I think it was a short tutorial from Summer Lee back when she made videos. It's definitely my go-to and I agree that it leaves the transitions much more smooth.

Great help🙂

Really helpful thank you!

Your way is exactly how I weave in tails when I change yarn/start a new ball

4:46 What I do for weaving in ends is a similar method to that, but with slight differences: If I'm adding in the yellow, I knit the first stitch with the yellow as normal, second stitch I lock down the yellow tail, third stitch brown, and then alternate locking down the yellow and brown tails so that each individual stitch only crosses one additional yarn, but I don't have to weave in my ends over two rows.

Thanks like it so much better

thank you very much!!

It’s so funny that I came across your video. I tried Stephen’s technique for the first time yesterday and did not like it for the same reasons you spoke of. I went back to my usual technique which is exactly what you described.

Love your technique. I don't mind sewing in ends and never cared for the weaven stephen technique. I will be using your technique and probably on many projects in the future. Thanks for sharing.

I always do it this way 😊

Thanks so much for sharing this technique. I also wasn’t loving the “weave-in Steven” method because of the look and this is much cleaner looking. Happy knitting! 😊

Thank you! I've been using the Weavin' Stephen - I'm not getting the distortion on the RS, but the bulk on the WS is definitely there. I'm not loving the stop/start for Stephen's technique either, so I'm going to use your quicker and neater method! Glad your tutorial came into my feed today - liked and subscribed 😊

I do the second method also, but with a minor change: rather than lay the yarn between the needles, I lay it over the working yarn behind the needles. Still every other stitch. I weave each color on different rows also. Works great for flat pieces.

Thank you.

Thanks a lot!!!!

I thought about doing it The way you’re showing and then thought I’ve never tried weavin Stephen. I didn’t really like leaving both ends and at the same time but that’s what I’ve been doing. The problem comes when you’re knitting in the round and garter you can’t really weave in the second end on the purl row. I’m still trying to figure out what looks best! Thanks for the video to confirm that I could do it your way, which I had never thought of for weaving in, and just for catching floats!

Thanks for your tutorial! KZfaq suggested it to me right after I made my very first weavin' Steven 😂 since I was planning on making it one strand by one strand, I tried your technique for the second strand. And on the wrong side it's indeed your technique that is the less visible, but actually it was yours that, for me, was more visible on the *right* side: my stitches were way looser. But I guess I just lack training... I never did any color work, but I have one in my wait list so this'll be the occasion to try and master your technique I guess 🤓

Thank you!!!!

I think, this is a better method , I've struggelt with Weave'in Stephen . Thank you so much.

I'd say you can anchor your end every 2 or 3 stitches, if you anchor it more frequently at the end (or where you cut it off). Would also work Very well with a continental or picking style of knitting. And if you'd really want to secure both ends in one row, you could always do both at once, with each stitch trading off which color is being anchored. I'm personally a sucker for symmetry, so I think I might try anchoring my new end halfway through the row before the change, working to the turn in the old color, changing colors and then working to halfway with the new color while anchoring the old. Thanks for sharing! Oh, and I'll bet this method gives you less trouble with changes to stretch, too.

Thanks❤😊

Thank you for this! I'm an adventurous beginner, never yet dared trying color work, currently beginning section 3 of Geogradient after having completed Aurora Cabin and just part of Shawlography. I always thought the Weavin Stepen looks like big scars on the back of the piece! Will definitely try your method... and hopefully it'll help build up my confidence to try color work! Happy Knitting 🧶😁

I love your method. Although Steven's method looked easy, I didn't like the messy look it had. I'm saving your video and will use that method to weave in my ends. I like the back of my work to look just as good as the front.

Thanks!

Thanks, this is great! I used Weavin Stephen on the Painted Bricks shawl, but the distortion bothered me. Will be trying this on my next project with lots of ends.

I use this technique for stripey socks. I do one end as I start the new colour at beginning of round and the other catching the loose end about 10sts before start of round, then pulling it through to tighten.

I do this also with a slight variation for continental knitting.

Thanks for this. It's always great to have more options for various situations. My lazy way is just to knit with the end and the new yarn together for 10 to 12 stitches. It seems to work fine for me but I'm not doing noticeable stripes in a stockinette stitch. I have an aversion to stripes 😨 so when I change color it is usually either in a garter stitch pattern or in gradual alternating color transition. My method seems invisible in fingering, sport & DK but not sure whether it would work for bulkier yarns.

I love this concept for sure but can’t wrap my head around it for my continental knitting, I’ll see if I can figure it out once I wake up here. Also if the first stitch is not a slip stitch in the last row, do we start on the first or second stitch then? (For future projects) Great idea for this pattern, I just never thought about it like that. I’ve used it in colourwork but never thought of it to weave in ends, you’re a genius!! Thank you for sharing it with us all!

I use this method but with both colors in one row, alternating which color I'm weaving in. It still lays flat and looks good. I keep both tails over my left index finger and throw the working yarn with my right hand. (Most of the time I knit continental style for speed. I only use the throwing method for color work and weaving in ends.)