Russian Join

Are you the kind of person that likes to take care of things as they come up, instead of leaving it for tomorrow to deal with? Then this might be your new favorite way to join a new piece of yarn to your work! The Russian Join allows you to add yarn to the working strand without tying a knot and without leaving ends to weave in later! This technique works well for most yarns, regardless of fiber content or weight, as long as they are more than one-ply. It is especially beneficial to use when making lace or another stitch pattern where it is difficult to weave in ends inconspicuously.

In this video, Brenda K. B. Anderson shows you how to work the Russian Join to connect pieces of yarn together. She uses a yarn needle to thread the end of the yarn back into itself, making a loop at the end of the first piece. She then threads the needle with the second piece of yarn, runs it through the loop at the end of the first piece, and again uses the needle to tuck the yarn tail through the core of the second piece of yarn, thus linking the two pieces together. After the pieces of yarn are joined, she neatens the connection point by pulling on the two yarn ends, and then carefully trimming them off at an angle so that they are less noticeable.

Brenda shows us that the join between pieces is quite strong and points out that it will be even stronger when the strands heave been crocheted (or knitted). This is not only a seamless technique for adding a new ball when you run out, but it is also an excellent way to string all of your scraps together to make a gorgeous, color-changing ball of yarn. The best part though, is that there are no ends to weave in later!