How to Spit Splice Yarn and Make Knitting Simpler

When knitting with wool and changing colors or adding a new skein, use the spit splice join to make things simpler and have fewer ends to weave in.

Only recently have I begun to spit splice yarn. When I discovered how easy it is to do, I became hooked.

Wool is a great fiber to use for knitting. In my opinion, sweaters need to be made of wool. A sweater is made to be worn for warmth and wool is the perfect choice.

To the best of my knowledge, spit-splicing only works when knitting with wool. If the yarn is a wool combination, I am not sure. Wool is a sticky fiber and water (spit) will help hold the strands together. Also the brisk rubbing of the wet wool connects the fibers.

Lopi yarn with Lettlopi, Alafosslopi, and Plotulopi

Wool Yarn Only

This is exactly why wool garments need to be hand-washed. The combination of water and friction changes the fiber. It will totally ruin a wool garment if it goes into the washing machine and / or dryer. It is also why felting wool works, which shrinks an item on purpose.

Warm Up sweater knit in Lettlopi
Warm-Up Sweater pattern

I am knitting a pattern called the Warm-Up Sweater by Espace Tricot (see pattern link at bottom of page). It is a simple raglan, top-down knit. I chose it to use up some of my Lettlopi wool. For some reason I have a lot of brown yarn. Then, I decided to combine the browns to make wide stripes for a less boring knit. (Lettlopi colors used are Murky and Acorn Heather.)

Spit-splicing is perfect for this type of patterning of colors.

How to Do the Spit Splice Join – With Photos

To do the spit splice, I change the colors by cutting the end of the yarn I have been using, as normally would be done. In this case it’s the lighter brown.

Instead of adding that new, darker brown color to my needle, I will combine the two colors of yarn together to form one strand. This will gradually bring in the new color and leave no ends to weave in – which is the best part!

Lettlopi wool sweater knitting brown
Warm-up Sweater
brown wool Lettlopi yarn to spit-splice
Two brown wool yarns

With the Lettlopi yarn, I can easily separate each end into two strands. They pull apart and unravel nicely.

Lay the ends together to overlap a bit and twist together.

Spit on that entire entwined section of wool to make it nice and wet. (Someone somewhere said spit works better than water – and quicker too.)

Once the yarn is wet, rub the section briskly between the palms of your hand. I usually have to rub a few times to fill in any loose holes. Do a little tug to be sure the yarns have stuck and do not pull apart.

unravel the yarn ends
Unravel each strand
spit splice how to
Combine and twist together

Once the two strands are stuck together, I have a section of yarn that is made up of both colors. Part of that section is a bit thick, but the yarn is thick and thin on its own, so this works.

Here is my spliced bit of yarn. As I continue knitting, the yarn goes from light to dark and blends in nicely for my next section of darker brown.

spit-splice
Wet yarn and rub until they stick
spit-splice wool
Knit with new color strand

I’m doing the splicing close to the beginning of round marker but it is not exact. It won’t matter. My two yarns are close in color and they just blend nicely. Also, this pattern has the BOR at the back, right shoulder where it wouldn’t been seen anyway.

Why Spit Splicing Makes Knitting Simpler

In the end, the reason for doing the spit splice join is to save myself the hassle of having to weave in ends. In this striped sweater project I would have had two ends hanging at every row of color if I had added yarn the traditional way. That would be a lot of ends when the sweater is complete!

Joining the yarn and not leaving ends means I will only have the cast-on strand, underarm strands, and cast-off strands on body and sleeves to weave when I am done. That is a win in my book!

spit splice knitting no ends to weave in
Rows of color with no ends showing except the cast-on

Other Uses For the Spit Splice Joining of Yarn

Also use this joining method when changing to a new skein, or if the yarn breaks, or if you come across a knot, and so on. I recently knit a colorwork sweater with Plotulopi wool which would come apart very easily on the slightest tug. I used the spit splice join a lot on that one!

Get the Warm-Up Sweater pattern at Ravelry

YouTube Video on Spit Splicing

If you’d like to watch this process on a video, here is one by iKnits that is short and to the point: https://youtu.be/h5UwY8NDtP0

My Collection of Good Cast-on Videos For Knitting

In knitting the cast-on is the first part of a project and it needs to be done well. Here I have gathered some useful videos that I have used, and still sometimes use, myself to get the cast on row right.

From simple to more difficult, this collection of good cast-on videos may help the newbie like myself. Never did I realize there were so many ways to get the yarn onto the needles to begin a project! I’ve been knitting for a few years now, and I am still finding new cast-on advice.

Doing a cast-on that stretches a little works for nearly every garment from socks to hats. There are specific types of cast-on stitches for ribbing and brioche to make the edge look rounded. It sets up the knitting of the garment, and seems like a small thing, but it can make a big difference in the end product.

I used to believe that a cast on was something to get out of the way so I could just knit. This is not true! The cast on is very important to get right. Don’t rush through, and practice at being as perfect as possible with those first stitches. They ARE important!

1. Basic Beginner Cable Cast-on

The cable cast-on is probably the most simple to do and is recommended for beginner knitters. It is the one I always used in the beginning of my knitting journey. For flat knitting (back and forth) a straight set of needles can be used. If the project is circular, then cast onto a circular needle.

For practice only, use whatever you happen to have on hand. Wooden needles and larger yarn is easiest.

Wooden straight knitting needles

2. The Long Tail Cast-on

The long-tail cast-on is the first different cast-on that I tried. For that reason it is second in my list of casting on options for knitting.

I do not use a slip knot when beginning the cast on process. I simply hold the yarn across my finger and thumb and put the needle down through and twist. It leaves a neater little first stitch. I tried to make a little video, but I am technology challenged.

Cast on and placing markers for the beginning of the Cobblestone Cardigan
Beginning the sweater

3. German Twisted / Old Norwegian Cast-on

This is my favorite cast-on and the one I use regularly. It works for hats, socks, sweaters and mittens, and really everything! This one makes the edging stretchy but not stretched out. Occasionally I do try a new suggested cast-on for a project, but the German twisted, also called Old Norwegian, is rhythmic and easy to do once it’s learned.

Space stitches casting on
Let stitches have some space

Neither of these videos mentions that when you cast on each stitch leave a bit of a space between the stitch as in my photo above. You don’t want the stitches close together. This is what helps to give the row some stretch.

One thing about this cast-on is that usually you will need to figure out the length of the tail before beginning. In general, make the tail at least 4 times the circumference of the end project. For instance, if your hat will be the size of your head (obviously), make that tail end 4 times that length. Some people say 3 times, but I cast on loosely and have found that I need four.

If you run out of yarn – and I have done that after casting on hundreds of stitches (sweaters) – you can turn the needle and do a few regular cable cast on stitches to finish up.

One more tip – Two different balls of yarn can be used where one replaces the need for a “tail”. This way you will have unlimited yarn and won’t run out during the casting on.

Here is an example, although the knitter is not doing the German Twisted, but is doing the long tail cast on. This method works whenever a long tail is needed. The beginning knot will not be counted, and will be dropped off when the cast-on is complete. This can be done using two different colors too!

4. The Garter Tab Cast-on For Knitting Shawls

Many crescent and triangular shawls begin with the garter tab cast-on. Shawls are usually knit with long, circular needles. This cast-on begins the knitting from the top center where new rows will increasingly grow out at the edges. It had me baffled until I saw a good video tutorial.

Here are some of my favorite YouTube videos showing this cast-on.

Moon Sisters Shawl
Moon Sisters Shawl
knitting sun-kissed shawl
Beginning knitting the Sun Kissed shawl pattern
knitting the Bays Edge shawl
Bays edge Shawl

5. Provisional Cast-on

The provisional cast-on is made as a temporary edge holder for a project. Once the knitting is finished the last row worked will be attached to the provisional cast on row. Think about making an infinity scarf that is one complete circle. The two ends need to be grafted together.

I’ve done provisional cast-ons a few times, like when I knit the Keramos Cowl. This project was a colorwork cowl with a liner inside. Once everything was knit, the inside liner had to be attached to the bottom of the outer layer.

Keramos cowl Fair Isle pattern
The white yarn is the provisional cast on edge
Provisional cast on with crochet hook
Casting right onto the needle using a crochet hook.
first row of knitting on the provisional cast on
Knitting onto the provisional cast on

Unique and Less Used Cast-ons

As a knitter you are likely to come across many other ways to begin a knitting project. If you knit brioche, there is a special way to cast on for that. If you knit hats, there are tubular cast ons that make the ribbing look nicer. For me, some of these cast-on ideas are quite involved and difficult.

6. Chinese Waitress Cast-on

I am not sure why we need to use this cast-on, but I’ve seen it mentioned so thought I’d include it here.

7. Two Color Tubular Cast-on

The tubular cast on is often used for hats to make the edge nice looking. If the hat will be knit in two colors, Andrea Mowry has a very good video about how to do the two-color tubular cast on. It is also called the Italian tubular cast-on.

I tried it when I made an attempt to knit a brioche hat in two colors. I did the pretty cast-on and then couldn’t figure out how to make the join in the round after the set up rows so I couldn’t continue. Brioche is still on my to-figure-out list! The cast on is pretty though so I took some photos.

brioche cast on Italian tubular
Andrea Mowry tutorial Italian cast on

Brooklyn Tweed also has a two color cast on for brioche (worked flat )which you’ll find here.

The Video Makers

I have curated the videos on this page because I’ve used them myself. Often I find that knitting videos are too wordy, too long, blurry, or just down right horrible. I’ve collected a little list of my favorite knitting video makers.

  • Very Pink Knits – also offers slow motion videos
  • Purl Soho – short and to the point, but they don’t cover everything
  • Designers – Jared Flood, Stephen West, Andrea Mowry and others have some good videos.

There are probably many more ways to cast on and begin knitting, but this is what I have for now. Search on YouTube and I’m sure you will find anything you need, but you may have to wade through the muck to find the good stuff.

More Knitting Stories

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Knitting a Colorwork Sweater in Plotulopi

Knitting a pullover sweater with a made up colorwork design using Plotulopi and Lettlopi wool.

For a while now I’ve been a bit lost as to what to knit next. I began the thrummed mittens and lost interest (because I never wear mittens in Florida) and finished up my Meadow Moon sweater, and now… what?

Colorwork / Fair Isle is my love, and I have all these plates of Plotulopi so lets use them! I’m still trying to use up stash yarn, and combine the yarn with a good pattern.

Plotulopi Frost Grass green plates of yarn
Frost Grass plotulopi plates

I dug out the Lopi 40 book because I have some Lopi yarn to use up. After knitting the Farfuglar pullover, and Clacks mittens, I have light blue and a tiny bit of white. I had ordered some rust orange (Apricot) Lettlopi as well as a brown color.

After skimming through the Lopi 40 book, which has many lovely projects, I decided on a vest. It is shown on children, but has sizes for adults. I figure I can do colorwork around the bottom, to the underarms, as the pattern does, and then finish with solid plotulopi. (It is a bottom up vest.) But I want to choose my own charts and colors.

Yarn Being Used

Because I have a lot of Plotulopi in “Frost Grass” green, that is my main color. The main contrast color is Apricot Lettlopi with a bit of Acorn brown and Air Blue Lettlopi in the center of the flower motif.

The “frost grass” color is really lovely, and I think a perfect name for this green yarn.

The Plotulopi is unspun and breaks easily. I must unwind it before pulling to knit. It does spit splice together well, which I’ve done when it unexpectedly breaks. I was worried about doing the colorwork and having to carry this yarn, but so far, it’s been okay. I am very careful not to tug on it.

The Lettlopi does not have this problem. I’m unsure how easy colorwork knitting would be with only Plotulopi yarn. Seems like it would be difficult. Unknitting, or tinking, can be tricky.

Alice Starmore’s charts for knitting book

Finally, I settled on a pattern, which was taken from Alice Starmore’s “Charts for Color Knitting” book (This is an affiliate link to Amazon). I will knit the floral pattern for the length of the body and the top will be solid green.

The Knitting

I cast on for the body ribbing (knitting bottom up) with green, using a size 4US needle – 195 stitches. My ribbing choice is not typical 2×2 and needed to be divisible by 5. The ribbing is from my Gansey knitting book and is more of a 2×3 rib. It goes like this:

Row 1: K2, *[P2,K3] repeat * until last 3 stitches, P2, K1

Row 2: P1, K1 *[P2, K1, P1, K1] repeat * to last 3, P2, K1

This wasn’t a good idea for this yarn. A normal 1×1 or 2×2 would have been fine.

Staka vest in Plotulopi

Then, after switching to the main needle size 7US, I reduced the stitches from 195 to 192 and began the divider row of little squares in orange (Apricot). The floral pattern is in 32 stitch repeats, which also fits into 192 stitches – I should have gone up a needle size here because this area of the sweater pulls in a bit.

The flower center three rows are brown with orange, brown with blue, and brown with orange. Then I go back to using green as the MC.

Lopi wool used to knit the Staka vest
Vest becoming a sweater

After finishing all the colorwork, I am still at 192 stitches, for size large, and will continue following the pattern from the book.

The Vest Becomes a Sweater

Unfortunately I have swapped out my vest for a bottom up sweater. I cannot understand the vest knitting directions. But I do know how to knit a bottom up sweater. Farfuglar was knit with similar yarn and in a similar size, so I intend to follow those directions and include some colorwork along the way. This sweater will end up being a total experiment! The Farfuglar sweater does not include short rows for the back, and I will definitely be including short rows.

I know that colorwork can make for a tighter fabric so I’ll have to be careful there. I really would have loved to have a vest, but I need a pattern with better directions for my first try.

Now I have continued on with a new chart motif to make the body longer.

Vest becoming a sweater

Attaching the Body and Sleeves

I wanted to use more orange, but was running out with only one skein left. The sleeves became solid green after the cuff area colorwork.

Fair Isle colorwork sweater in Lopi yarn
Sleeves nearly done so the parts can be joined
Orange flowers sweater
Joined the body and sleeves and beginning the yoke.
Lopi sweater sleeve cuff and yoke pattern
Yoke section of Lopi wool sweater
Yoke patterning
Lopi sweater sleeve cuff and floral print
Lopi sweater knitting project

The neck is a simple k1tbl, p – around for about an inch. Then, I was finally able to try it on. The sweater is tight around the body due to all that colorwork. I have the underarm grafting to do and some ends to weave in. Once it’s washed and blocked, I will see how it fits.

Wearing the Sweater

Finally in January 2023 I got some photos of myself wearing the Lopi Sweater. It is very comfortable. The flower colorwork area is a smidge tighter than I would like. If only my belly would shrink a little. Anyone else wish this?

If you are wondering about the comfort of this wool against the skin, I find it to be fine. Yes, I suppose it is a bit scratchy but I don’t mind it at all. Wool is a bit too hot – okay, a lot too hot – for Florida, but occasionally we have some cooler days.

hand knit sweater
wool colorwork sweater
Lopi wool Fair Isle sweater
Icelandic wool

Please keep reading the blog…

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Heading Into Summer – Four Projects On the Needles

Here’s what I am currently knitting. A couple of easy, free patterns, as well as a hat and sweater.

Because I live in a climate that is seldom considered to be “cool”, I knit with wool year round. I’m not sure what other knitters do, but this is the time of year when all the big yarn sellers come out with cotton, linen and silk yarns and showcase knitting projects for lightweight tops. I really don’t pay much attention to that because most “summer” projects are still too hot to wear here in central Florida.

Currently I am finishing up four knitting projects I have been working on regularly. I like to have a variety of knitting going at once.

The Hidden Gems Shawl

For a while now I have avoided knitting “shawls” because I never wear them. I would love to, but in this hot and humid climate the last thing I want is something around my neck. But, when I saw “Hidden Gems” knit up in hands-spun yarn, I thought it was a beauty and it might be nice to have one.

Hidden Gems free shawl pattern
Hand-spun shawl / scarf

The shawl is more of a scarf in the shape of an elongated set of triangles – larger in the middle coming to points on each end. It is a free pattern, and could be knit using any type of yarn. This pattern would be great for a beginner knitter. It is mostly garter stitch with a few other stitches that would be good practice. You should know how to knit front and back, slip, slip knit, and knit 2 together.

The Orange Slouchy Hat

I have knit this slouchy hat in light blue already. It is a tedious knit that seems to take forever and that makes it great as a take-along project AND becomes a very lovely everyday hat. I have mostly been knitting on this hat while traveling. I no longer have a car of my own, so I ride as a passenger everywhere. It is perfect for knitting this simple 1×1 ribbing.

orange hat knitting

The Honey Cowl

The Honey Cowl is another simple (and FREE) pattern that is perfect for take-along car rides, or TV knitting. This is my third Honey Cowl and it is another good pattern for a beginner knitter to try. Because stitches are slipped, this is a faster knit.

Honey cowl knitting Mrs. Crosby yarn

The Lopi Sweater

This sweater started as a vest. The vest directions were hard to understand, mainly because I have never knit a vest. After I knit the body part of the “vest” I had to switch to making it a sweater. The whole thing was pretty much made up as I went along.

As I write this the pullover is nearly finished. I mainly have weaving in of ends, washing and blocking left. There is no pattern for this, but I followed stitch counts (mostly) from Farfuglar.

Yoke section of Lopi wool sweater
Yoke patterning of the Lopi Sweater

The sweater is nearly finished, and once that is done with I will look for another sweater to knit. I already have yarn set aside for two patterns, so I will probably begin one of those. The simplicity of the hat, cowl and shawl patterns make them perfect for occasional knitting and there is no hurry in completing any of them.