Simple Closing Method for Hats and Mittens – Tutorial

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Here’s how it works.

Have you ever had a few stitches left over and the instructions say to weave them closed? Not sure what to do? This is the tutorial you have been waiting for!

Learn how to effectively close those small openings in an almost invisible manner. This tutorial also works perfectly for amigurumi projects!

Simple Closing Method for Hats and Mittens

For our example I am showing you the top of a hat worked from the bottom up (from the forehead to the crown of the hat). If you want to see the hat pattern it is my Simple Double Crochet Slouch Hat.

Watch the video on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/g-rMwF_C2Yk

Step 1

First we need to finish off our working yarn.

We have been left with a handful of stitches in our final round that we want to close permanently to make the top of your hat.

Step 2

Thread your yarn end onto a yarn needle. There are tons of options when it comes to yarn needles – I prefer metal to plastic personally but I think it stems from when I work on amigurumi projects. The tighter stitches I use in amigurumi tend to bend the plastic needles. The needle I am using in the project is from a Clover Pack I picked up on Amazon. I will include the link at the bottom of the post if you are curious about the needle.

We are going to continue to work in rounds from the right-side of your work (Note: the pretty side, or the side you want people to see). Take your yarn needle and work it under the front loop (Note: the front loop is always the loop which is closest to you).

Pull through.

Do not pull to tighten – we will tighten it closed at the end (promise it works!). We will be skipping all the back loops because when we are done they will be hiding inside!

You will now alternate the direction you insert your yarn needle for the next stitch. Remember you only work under the front loop and this time go from the back of the loop to the front of the loop…then the next stitch you work under the front loop from the front to the back…so let’s move to Step 3 to see how it looks when you do this.

Step 3

You are weaving the working yarn back and forth, under the front loop of each of the remaining stitches in your final round of your project.

Step 4

 

Pull on the working yarn to tighten the last row of stitches and to close the top of the hat.

Step 5

Yes! It is the ta da moment! The top is closed up neatly and securely. Now we just need to hide the yarn end and weave it in securely on the inside of the hat where no one can see it 🙂

Step 6

Now insert your yarn needle into the center hole and thread the entire length inside the project.

Here is how it looks when you are all done!

You will need to work in the end securely to finish up. Make sure you work in multiple directions when you do this to increase your chance of not having the yarn wiggle out when you wash your projects or with regular wear.

When I work in my yarn ends I like to work the yarn under the loops of 5 stitches in one direction and then turn to work back across and under the same stitches with one minor but significant change – I skip the last 2 stitches I worked under and weave the yarn end under the remaining 3 stitches. Then I repeat this again on a different row.

When you become more comfortable closing the top of your projects this way you can work under 2 stitches at once – like this:

Now as promised this is the pack of needles I use – whenever they go on sale I tend to pick up another package so I can have them in all my WIP bags!

They also have the curved style too:

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