Or, How to Join Some Yarns

Spit-splicing is one of, if not my very favorite technique in knitting.  It isn't for all yarns, however.  Spit-splicing is appropriate for wool yarns of at least 75% wool content.  It is NOT appropriate for:

1.  Superwash wool

2.  Cottons, linens, acrylics. 

Here's how it goes:

Whether intentional or not, you have two ends of yarn.  This happens to be a Cascade knitting worsted weight yarn with 4 plies, or strands of yarn twisted together.

Tease out approximately, but not perfectly, about equal lengths of 2 plies.  I do mean "tease," because you want some of the fluffy stuff to help the yarn adhere.

Overlap the ends, again approximately.  Some like to try and twist the ends together, which is probably fine.  I've never found any need to do that. 

Now, here's the tricky part:  You lay the overlapped ends across your hand and spit on it.  I suppose those faint hearts who can't bring themselves to spit might use water, but I consider that a bit sissy.  You get the yarn nice and wet with spit, then you gently rub it back and forth between your hands, generating both friction and heat, until you have a nice, continuous piece of yarn that looks like this:

You will have a continuous yarn, and the place where you spliced it will not show.

This is the part where I get to tell you once again, the thrilling anecdote of my son's cardigan.  I made him a lovely cardigan

of Lamb's Pride Worsted.  I wound up having to re-do the fronts a couple of years afterwards, and I knew that I'd extensively spit-spliced the left front.  When I ripped it out, I could not find the splices, and even tugging on the yarn did not cause it to come apart.  I was astonished. 

If one is a devotee of Shetland wool, splicing will be even more secure, and the insides of your sweaters will be a joy and delight, rather than a melange of yarn ends to bury. 

I know one woman who splices when doing Fair Isle.  It works to an extent, let us say.  It produces a slightly more ambiguous color change than might always be desirable, but it works.

If you simply can't spit, go to your pharmacy and purchase a bottle of that lovely artificial spit.  It should work very well.  Just be sure it doesn't have any sugar in it, to attract beasties.

Good knitting,

MEM

Copyright and all rights reserved to Mary English Morrison a/k/a/ The Little Yarn Shoppe of Horrors, 2005

Comments

[Antique Auto]

Also it's great trick If you want to fix the string of your yo-yo

[Antique Auto]

Alaso is a great trick to fix the string of a yo-yo

[celebrity movie archive]

haha great! gonna tell my wife about your blog! ) man many thanks!

[Cialis Online]

Great post, its so interesting, really.

[Generic viagra]

Well i didn't tried to join yarns, but it's possible, u showed an good way to join Yarns.

[Engagement Rings]

Process of Joining Yarn, good way to join

[Cialis Online]

Very Good Work, thanks for sharing this information!!

[Evie]

Thanks! Was skeptical about spitting on the yarn, but it works. Can't see where I joined the yarn. Saved my project.

[buy viagra]

Very good blog! Thanks!

[weight loss]

Cool! I am a newbie knitter and was searching around trying to figure out how to add a new skein to my first project...this amazed me and worked perfectly! Thanks for post. It’s really imformative stuff.

[Dianne]

Boy, did I find this just in the nick of time. I read this for the first time yesterday. Had heard of spit splicing but had no clue what it was or how you did it. And then, one day after reading this, I broke my yarn while trying to get a knot out. You absolutely cannot see the join. My scarf and I thank you!

[Donde Invertir]

Like your article very much!!!
Keep it up, thanks for sharing this information!

[Viagra]

That's quite helpful!! I adore knitting and run into this problem from time to time it's really frustrating.

[cheapest viagra]

nice photos about yarns now I know how to do it.

[chalazion surgery]

I used to watch my grandma doing some cool sweaters, this blog reminded me of her.

[Kamagra]

A very nice tutorial. From now this will be help me in knitting.Good to see

[Generic viagra online]

I love the way you make such incredible informational and interesting posts...That is really and effective thing from your side..Keep up the good work

[Edegra]

I will absolutely be using this technique when I make my next project of wool.

[generic viagra]

Wow really its very nice method
to join the yarns. i would like to use it.

....Alex

[Muska]

My granny teach me how to join yarns , but with another method

[no prescription hydrocodone]

Sounds strange but it is all true...how less we care for ourselves isn't it?

[Cheap Generic viagra]

Hi Mary,
Nice Job...!! I like it very much,Nice pictures.
Thanks,
John

[Splice Online]

Great Tutorial ! I will try the same with my thing. I love your techinque. This is great idea.

[Ways to Lose Weight]

Never give a party if you will be the most interesting person there.

[Ariel]

I've always heard about this method but never tried it. WOW, it worked great!! Thanks so much!!!!!!!!!!