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The felted join (also sometimes called a spit splice) is a great way to join two balls of yarn together when they are made out of natural fibers. You can use it to join two balls of the same color, to join different colors in a stash busting project, or even to join ends of the same ball of the yarn is cut in the ball or has a weak spot or a knot.
Why Do a Felted Join?
I love the felted join because it keeps you from having to weave in so many ends. When I do big intarsia knitting projects (like the vest shown in this post about duplicate stitch), for example, I like using short lengths of yarn so they don’t get tangled.
If I use a felted join I can join one little piece to the next little piece and not have as many ends to weave in.
Once you’ve used this method a few times you are sure to find lots of ways to use it if you like knitting with animal fibers. Much like felting a full project, this method only works on non-superwash wool and other animal fibers like alpaca.

Why is it Called a Spit Splice?
The way a felted join works is by getting the fibers of the yarn to stick to each other, making it one continuous piece of yarn. Felt is made by the application of moisture and agitation.
I do this with water, but you can use spit in a pinch if it doesn’t gross you out.
How to Do a Felted Join

To begun the felted join, you first need to open up the ends of your yarn so there’s something for the fibers to grab onto. It also makes for a smoother join if the fibers of each end of the yarn get mixed up together rather than piled on top of each other.
If you’re working with a plied yarn you can just split the plies. This yarn is pretty lightly spun so I just pulled it apart on each end.

Line up the fibers on your hand so that the pieces from each end are layered together.

Add a little bit of water. Honestly just a couple of drops is usually enough to get you started. You don’t need to soak it.

Rub the yarn ends vigorously between your palms for a few seconds. You should already be able to see the ends felting into each other.
You’ll probably need to do this a few times. Add more water if you feel like you need it, but again, just a couple of drops at a time.

Gently tug the yarn apart near the join to make sure it’s secure before you finish. If it feels like it’s going to pull apart (or it actually does), separate the fibers and try again.
Generally this is a pretty quick process with 100 percent wool or other animal fibers, cut sometimes a little persistence is required. It’s still better than weaving in ends if you ask me.
Have you ever done a felted join or do you have another method for avoiding weaving in ends? I’d love to hear about it!
