How to Knit: The Russian Join

It's wonderful if one skein (ball) of yarn is enough for your project but what happens when you want that scarf a little longer or that blanket just isn't big enough? How do you add more yarn? You could go the obvious way and just knot the two ends of yarn together. However, that isn't pretty and doesn't always stay in place. If you know me I'm a big fan of pretty! If I don't like the way it looks I'm redoing it! (Yes, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. At least when it comes to cleaning teeth and knitting!) So what is a girl seeking pretty and (close to) perfect to do? The Russian join!

I first found the Russian join on Pinterest. When I saw it I thought it looked horribly complicated and like I would never be able to do it. But it is surprisingly simple to do and I'll teach you how!

Six simple steps to the Russian join:

So I'm working on this beautiful blue blanket for a beautiful little boy.
It's the biggest blanket I've made to date.
What am I to do when I reach the end of a cone of yarn but I'm not done knitting?
The Russian join, of course, to add in a new cone of yarn!

Step 1: Thread one end of yarn
(for me this one come off the blanket)
into a blunt tapestry-type needle.

Step 2: Insert needle into the plies of yarn for an inch or two.

After working the needle through the yarn,
it will look scrunched up like this.
Pull the needle all the way through leaving a loop at the top.

Remove the yarn from the needle and place it in the loop.

Step 3: Pull the main yarn down,
leaving the needle in the loop to attach the new yarn.

Step 4: Thread the new yarn through the needle.

Step 5: Pull the new yarn through the loop of the joined yarn.
Now take the needle and work it through the plies of the new yarn
(Like we did in step 2 with the original yarn).

Step 6: Tug on both of the joined yarns to smooth out any bunching

And trim any excess yarn off.
Now time to finish this blanket now that I've added the yarn :)

Happy Crafting!