The long tail cast on is the perfect balance between ease, stretch, and just plain looking nice! The downside is that it doesn’t work if your tail is too short. There are methods to estimate your tail length, but sometimes you mess up on your estimate, or you just didn’t want to bother with that extra step. Luckily, you can add more yarn to your tail and complete your cast on no problem.
There are many methods you can use to add more yarn to a long tail cast on. My top three are the Russian join, the magic knot, and the square knot.
Russian Join
The Russian join is the most secure method. It’s a knotless join that’s almost invisible, the yarn where you join is a little thicker than the rest. The downsides to this method are that it only works on yarns with plies, and is much harder to do on thinner yarn.
Start your Russian join by threading your new yarn onto a tapestry needle. Place the tail of the old yarn over the new one. Then, put the needle through the center of the new strand of yarn, between the plies. The old yarn tail should be in the loop formed at the end of your tapestry needle. Continue weaving the needle through the center of the yarn for about 3-4 inches. Then, pull the needle and the tail end of the yarn all the way through. Don’t tighten anything just yet because you still have to join the other yarn.
Now you repeat the same steps to the other yarn. Take the tail of the old yarn and thread it through your tapestry needle. If it’s too short, you can gently pull on the tail to make it longer. Thread the needle through the center of the same strand of yarn on the other side of where the new yarn is joined. Weave the needle between the plies for 3-4 inches and then pull the needle all the way through.
Pull the tail ends of both yarns to tighten the join. Then, pull the other ends to straighten out the bunched yarn. Trim the tails, and you have a perfect, almost invisible join!
Magic Knot
The join that I’ve used the most is the magic knot. I like it because it’s a very secure knot, and the method is easy to remember. This knot is secure enough to trim the tails short, but if you’re worried the knot will come undone, you can always leave them long and weave in the tails in later.
Using your new yarn, make a basic knot around the old yarn, leaving a tail on the old yarn approximately 4 inches long. Then, make another basic knot using the tail of the old yarn around the working end (not the tail) of the new yarn.
It’s important to only use the tail end of the old yarn to make the second knot. If you make the knot with both ends of the old yarn, the second knot will end up on top of the first knot, and just make a double knot. The knots should be side by side, like in the 4th picture below.
Finally, pull the working ends of both strands of yarn to pull the knots together, and tighten both knots very firmly. Trim the tails or leave them to weave into your project later.
Square Knot
If you want a simple join that creates a small, less noticeable knot, try the square knot. The great thing about this join is that it only takes 10 seconds to do! On the downside, the square knot will come apart if you trim the tails, so you’ll have to weave them in later.
Begin by putting the new yarn over the old, making an “X”. The yarn tails should be around 5 inches long. Take the old strand of yarn and wind it over and back under the new yarn as if you were making a knot. Next, take the new yarn, and put it over the tail of the old yarn, making another “X”. Wind it under and over the old yarn, and you will have made a ring.
It might seem hard to remember these steps, but the method is very simple. The yarn on the top and bottom always stays the same, and you first wind the bottom yarn around the top, then the top yarn around the bottom.
Take both ends of both yarns, and pull them tight to create the knot. Do NOT cut the tails. Leave them long and later weave them into your project.
Bonus: Two Strand Long Tail Cast On Method
We’ve gone over how to add yarn to a long tail cast on, but wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t run out of yarn in the first place? When you use the two strand long tail cast on method, there’s no risk of running out of yarn! It’s super simple, too. You only add one step to a regular long tail cast on.
For this method, you can use two balls of yarn, or both strands of yarn from the same ball. First, hold the two strands of yarn together (treating them like they are one strand of yarn) and create a slip knot. Don’t worry about the length of the tails, they just need to be long enough to weave in. The second strand of yarn replaces the tail that you need for the ordinary cast on.
Slide the slip knot onto your needle, and hold the yarn like you would when doing a regular long tail cast on. The yarn that you want to use to continue your project should be wrapped around your pointer finger. The spare yarn should be wrapped around your thumb, replacing the tail. Cast on stitches as normal. When you’ve finished casting on your stitches, cut the front yarn and continue knitting with the other strand.
Running out of yarn isn’t the end of the world! It’s easy to add more yarn to finish your cast on. Follow Yarn in a Teacup on Facebook to keep up to date on new articles. Leave a comment on what I should write about next!