When we learned to knit, it was basically carved in stone that you need to weave in the ends on every project. Even if it makes us die a little inside, we try to follow the rule. Sometimes on a project with a lot of ends, we weave them in as we go to spread the misery across time. 

Once I made the cutest striped sweater with all my leftover yarns from Wonder Woman projects. It used about 10 different yarns in red, yellow, blue, and white. I was so glad I wove the ends in as I went. There were too many to tie, it would have been lumpy. And with so many ends to do at once, I know I wouldn’t have done it. That cute striped sweater would have lived in my “to finish” pile forever.

If we hate weaving in ends so much, why don’t we just break that rule? I think we’re afraid that we aren’t “real” knitters if we don’t follow the rules. Or maybe we think that if we know and follow all the rules it proves that we are Good Knitters. But no one is giving out trophies for that.

We all know what will happen if we don’t do it. We’ll be strutting around showing off our gorgeous hand knit sweaters dotted with holes and have yarn tails streaming out behind us. 

We could tie a knot instead of weaving the ends in. But it could come undone someday. It could migrate to the right side of the work. It’s tacky to tie knots in your knitting. At least, that’s what the Knitting Police say.

I say we can do what we want with our ends! I have a couple of smaller shawls that I wear around my neck bandana-style. I’ve worn them for years and still haven’t woven in the ends. If you look at the backside of them, you’ll see all the ends taped down with clear packing tape- I didn’t even tie knots!

I never weave in ends if they’re not going to show. I tie a bow and double knot it on the inside of a sweater, leaving the tails long. The double-knotted bow is less likely to migrate to the front of the work, and the long tails mean that if it ever comes undone I can tie it again. It works like a charm when I join a new ball of yarn, but too bulky for stripes. I understand all the whys and hows of weaving in the ends. That’s why I know exactly how to get around it.

I don’t always skip out on weaving in my ends. When I make a gift for someone, I finish it beautifully. And I’m happy to do it. A handmade gift is such an act of love, I want every detail to show it. I want the recipient to wear their new knit with pride, not ask me why it’s taped on the backside. 

It is important to learn the Rules of Knitting. If you decide to knit an heirloom sweater or baby blanket, those rules for professional finishing are going to elevate the piece. And knowing the rules means you’ll recognize when you can get away with breaking them.

Gather Supplies

These DIY tassel stitch markers make a fun little project with an adorable and useful end result. There’s a good chance you have everything you need on hand already! You’ll need “lightbulb” pins, embroidery floss (you could probably use lace weight yarn, too), scissors, and something to wrap the yarn around – I used a lip balm tube.

Create a Bundle of Loops

First, wrap the floss around your lip balm about 5 times.

Next,cut the thread and slide it off the lip balm. Be sure to pinch the whole bundle to keep all the loops intact.

Attach to Pin

Then slide an open pin through the center of your thread bundle. Position the thread at the small end of the closed pin, with the cut ends of the thread at the bottom (away from the pin).

Now, use a short piece of thread to tie a double knot around the bundle, make it nice and tight and right up against the end of the pin. Make sure to use a long enough thread that the tails will be the same length as your tassel when you’re done.

I didn’t like the way one tail from my knot stuck up insead of hanging down with the rest of the tassel. Here’s the fix if it bothers you, too. Push a needle through the knot from top to bottom.

Thread the offending tail through the eye of the needle and pull the needle down through the knot. Now all the threads are neatly in the direction of the tassel.

Trim the Tassel

Finally, cut the loops of your thread bundle so it finally looks like a tassel.

The ends won’t necessarily look nice at this point. Take your scissors and give it a trim.

Now you have an adorable stitch marker for your collection!

Why not make a whole set!?!

If you’re looking for more quick projects, check out my knit hair ties or knit scrunchie tutorials.

Have you ever had the solution to one problem cause another? This knit lampshade trim is the last (hopefully!) in a long line of problems caused by previous solutions.

It all started when I decided to have 5 kids… 🤣 Just kidding! But seriously, I have a tiny house for a family of seven and my monstera was taking up way too much space in front of the only available window.

Solution 1: move the giant plant into a dark corner. Now the poor baby gets no light. Unfortunately, she really enjoys photosynthesis.

Solution 2: dig out an ugly Ikea lampshade and hanging cord that no one is using and slap a plant bulb in it. Now I have an ugly lampshade hanging in my living room! 😫

Solution 3: knit colorful trim and give the lampshade some personality!

So here we are. It was super easy, I’ll tell you what I did.

Measure the Lampshade

First, I didn’t even bother taking down the shade to measure it. I just semi-carefully measured around the bottom edge of the shade. It was 52 inches.

Knit the Trim

Second, I looked online for a knit trim pattern that I liked. I chose this one, and bookmaked a handful of others so I can create my own motley collection of lampshades in the future.

Next, it didn’t take me too long to knit the trim. I purposely chose leftover yarn that was a heavy worsted and used US9 needles. This was definitely meant to be a quick and easy project! (If you don’t have cute little sheets to keep track of your projects, you can get the one in the picture in my free Merry Knitter’s Bundle of Fun here. It also includes an exclusive shawl pattern and 2 phone wallpapers.)

I did take the time to block my trim, I’m not a total slacker. A nice straight edge elevates the whole project.

Glue on the Lampshade Trim

Finally, armed with a 53-inch length of knit trim, I was ready to make over my boring lampshade! I did take it down for this part so I wouldn’t have to fight gravity as much. It only took about 5 minutes and a hot glue gun. I started on the front of the lampshade, with the middle of the trim, so the seam in the trim would line up with the seam in the back of the lampshade. If you own a hot glue gun, I don’t have to tell you to glue a couple inches at a time while the glue is hot. You could also use fabric glue – and probably good old craft glue – but you’ll have to wait for the glue to dry before you can hang it back up. I don’t have that kind of patience.

Overall, I’m very happy with this project. I may even put in 5 more minutes of effort one of these days to spot-clean the lampshade! 🤣

If you’re looking for a good yarn for your lampshade trim, I recommend Knit Picks Swish. It’s not as heavy as the scrap yarn I chose, but it has just a tiny bit of sheen to it that I think would look nice. Are you inspired to add knit trim to everything? You can see how to knit trim directly on to a knitting project here.