Seamless Finishing for Crochet

I am a perfectionist. I like things nice and neat. OCD neat. {Not that I'm a clean freak - quite the opposite. But I digress.} So, one thing that has always bothered me is you can see where you joined and finished off the end of a project. I know, no one else sees it.

But I do. And I knew that there had to be a better way.

There is.

So, pick up that latest project that you are just about ready to finish and let's try something new.

We'll start off a little different. Instead of joining with the beginning of the row (stitch A), just finish off after the last stitch in the row (stitch B). There will be a gap between the beginning (A) and the end (B).

Take the tail and bring up the needle in the middle of stitch B. This will become the bottom of a new stitch that will join stitch A and B.

Now, take the needle and slip it underneath stitch A, under both the front and back loops of the stitch.

Now, to finish off the new stitch, put the needle back in the middle of stitch B, making sure that the tail ends up on the back side of the project (the picture shows the right side).

And here is the final result, a new stitch that appears between the first and last single crochet of the row. Once a knot is put in the tail and the tail is woven into the back of the piece, the edge will be even harder to discern.

To put it all together, here is a short demonstration:

And now on to the real reason why I came up with this method. The nativity set that I have been working on has several parts where the pattern calls for a chain of 27 or a chain of 15 that is joined in a circle and then attached to the character. With such a small piece, it makes the joining that much more noticeable.

So, here is how to join seamlessly when you have a single crocheted round and two ends.

Like before, don't join with a slip stitch to the first stitch (stitch A) to finish off the row but finish off the last stitch (stitch B) by itself. There will be a gap between the beginning (A) and the end (B). Unlike before, you now have two tails: the beginning tail and the ending tail.

Thread the needle with the beginning tail and bring up the needle in the middle of stitch B. This will become the bottom of a new stitch that will join stitch A and B. Bring the end tail over the knot between stitch A and the beginning tail. The end tail will help us hide this knot later on.

Now, take the needle and slip it underneath stitch A, under both the front and back loops of the stitch. Even though the end tail in this picture is over the needle, that is not its final place. Once the needle is through, the beginning tail should be placed over the end tail.

Put the needle back in the middle of stitch B, making sure that the tail ends up on the back side of the project. Don't pull the beginning end though too tightly or it will be very easy to lose sight of the new stitch.

Depending on how the yarn was laying and how tightly everything was when the new stitch was being formed, there may be a need to make some adjustments so that it is seen and the knot that separates stitch A and the beginning tail disappears. To make these adjustments, temporarily put the needle under both the front and back loops of the new stitch and pull up at the same time as you pull on the end tail (to hide the knot) and/or the beginnning tail (to help form the new stitch).

Once satisfied with the new stitch, tie off the two ends and weave them in and you have a round that is very hard to find where it began and where it ends.

And to see it happen in real time...

Now, doesn't that feel better.

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.
~ Attributed to Harry S. Truman