When do you weave in your ends?

I haven’t yet met any knitter whose favorite part of a project is weaving in the loose tails. Even if you use a weaving technique that’s as-you-go, you still usually have your final tail to weave (at least!)

Do you weave in knitting tails before or after you block your finished object?

Personally, I sew my ends in AFTER blocking. And there are 3 reasons I wait.

First, sometimes I find I didn’t need that much yarn to weave in the ends. In the wash, your knit stitches loosen up and relax into their “final” shape. This can cause them to use up some of that yarn tail (Another tip: I usually leave a GENEROUS amount of yarn to weave in, just in case)

Second, it looks cleaner & more invisible. When the stitches have all relaxed, I can more clearly see how to weave or sew the ends in an invisible way. I can hide them in the stitches without fear that they might show later.

Third, I’m going to have to check it anyway. After I block, I always check my ends anyway. If I have woven them in before I blocked the piece, I check to see if anything has come loose, or if any of the tiny tails are showing. So, I might as well wait.

When do you weave in your ends? I’d love to hear from you!