How to Join Yarn Ends by Needle Felting

How to join yarn scraps to make a ombre ball of wool
Dealing with yarn ends can be one of the more annoying parts of knitting and crochet, all that weaving in loose ends at the end of a project can be a real drag! Then there is the question with what to do with all those left over scraps of yarn that you end up collecting. Well I’ve got a solution to both those dilemmas with one easy technique. I’m going to show you how to needle felt yarn ends together to create one continuous length with no knots or bulky joins. It’s perfect for when your yarn runs out mid row or to make a rainbow ball of wool like I’ve done here.
You can watch the video for detailed instructions, I’d recommend this if you are new to needle felting, or read on below for step-by-step pictures and instructions.

You will need:

How to needle felt join yarn ends
Felting needle – available from good craft stores or online here*
Foam pad
Assorted wool yarn scraps (yarn with a high content of wool fiber works best)- I’ve used botanically dyed samples from this workshop I attended last year.

How to:

collect yarn scraps and samples
1. Collect yarn scraps and samples. If you are making a ball of yarn think about the order of colour and combinations you would like to use.
Joining yarn step 1
2. Unravel ends of the yarn you would like to join
joining yarn ends 2
3. Mingle the unraveled ends together.
Joining yarn ends by needle fleting
4. Needle the fluffy yarn ends but poking them with the felting needle. They will start to bond together. The video shows this process fully.
joing yarn ends
5. Keep going. You can see the yarn is starting to felt together. Turn your work as you go and rub it between the palms of your hands to smooth out the fluffiness every so often.
finished join
6. You can tell it’s done when the yarn won’t pull apart and the join is firm and looks continuous. To get a neat smooth finish rub the joined section between the palm of your hands. I show this step clearly in the video.
Rainbow ball of yarn created from yarn scraps and needle felting
All done!
I’ve wound up all my samples as I went along to form a big surprise ball of yarn. You can see how the colours change in the center of the ball.
I can’t wait to see what this looks like knitted up into a project. Stay tuned for that one.
surprise bal of yarn made from scraps
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5 Comments

  • Brigitte says:

    Wow, I love that! Thank you.

  • Stephanie says:

    Thanks for sharing! My only comment would be to spit…. er, I mean use a teeny bit of water.

    Actually, I do mean spit. “Cause of enzymes.

    If, I mean when, I try this, I would moisten the yarns right before you start felting, lightly roll them together, and also to roll them as you describe at the end.

    I did something like this to hide yarn ends in bulky/rustic knitting, but it never occurred to me to use it to join. Thanks again.

    • Yes i know it sounds gross but spit works well. Needle felting doesn’t require moisture but sometimes I do breathe on the felted object/join before giving it a little friction just to matte down the stray fluff. Breath contains moisture.

  • Courtney says:

    I can’t find the link for the video. Can someone please help?

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