The Russian Join is a way of adding a new ball of yarn without knots, or ends to sew in. It’s also very secure so you don’t need to worry about anything working it’s way out and unravelling.
When you use the Russian Join, you do work some stitches with double the thickness of yarn. These can appear slightly bulkier, but usually it’s not noticeable and it’s worth it for the security and ease.
This technique can be used at the end of a row or for a specific colour change. You just may need to be careful about where exactly the join is so the new colour appears in the right place. Sometimes I complete the last few stitches and pinch or mark exactly where I want the join to be. Then I unravel a few stitches to give me space for the Russian Join. If you’re joining the same colour then you don’t need to worry about that.
This also works perfectly if you want to join your odds and ends of yarn to make a big multi coloured ball. Just think of all those lovely colour changes without the pain of the ends to sew in!
So, how do we do The Russian Join…
You need a blunt ended needle (whatever you’d usually use for sewing your ends in) and the two pieces of yarn you wish to join. Start by crossing them over each other and pulling the ends back along themselves.
Thread your needle then insert it into and back down the centre of the yarn, just after the point the yarns crossed over. Wiggle it through and pull the yarn up the needle til you’ve gone far enough along to conceal the tail. Then repeat on the other side.
Pull and smooth the yarns away from each other and it should leave you with a beautiful join. Any little ends left sticking out can be snipped to tidy. Alternatively if you haven’t concealed your tail far enough along, re-thread the needle and go a bit further through the yarn.
There we go! I hope that was useful. Check out my how to section for more tips and tutorials.
Comment below to let me know how you get on or if you have any questions.
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