How-To: Spit Splice Yarn

As an avid knitter and crocheter, I’ve known about spit splicing for years, but the name just sounded gross, so I never got around to trying it. That is, until this morning.

While working on a deadline, I was hurrying through my project and reached the end of a ball of yarn without realizing that I was running out. Not wanting to knit back, I decided it was finally time to give spit splicing a chance, so I checked out this this tutorial on Craftsy, wrinkled my nose, and gave it a go. And, wouldn’t you know, it worked beautifully. Like, really beautifully.

If you’re going to try it, here are a few tips to get you started:

• The splice is actually a form of wet felting. Basically, this means that it will work best if used on wool or other animal fibers. It probably won’t work on plant-based fibers (cottons, bamboos, soys) or synthetics.
• You don’t actually have to use spit. After grossing myself out with my first attempt, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of water. It worked just as well.

Happy splicing, hookers and knitters!