No, not sewing.

While I have no tips for avoiding the weaving in of ends, I offer a technique that will hopefully reduce the pain. It’s recommended that a rather long tail is left after fastening off. However, if you think you can do with a shorter tail that can still be woven in a few different directions, this will enable you to do so without having to concern yourself with leaving enough to thread a needle. Furthermore, you can use a blunt metal needle with a smaller eye than is necessary to thread yarn. (The pictures are numbered according to the descriptions.)

1. Instead of threading a needle with the end of your yarn for each & every motif/color, thread your blunt needle with some very strong, thin thread (I used unwaxed dental floss). Tie it to form a loop of about two or three inches.
2. For this round motif, I first send the needle through the stiches toward the center. I make sure that the yarn end is caught by the loop of floss as I pull the needle all the way through.
3. Now I send the needle through following the starting ring of chains. Just half, since I can’t bend the needle.
4. Here, you can see the end starting to go through the bottom of the stitches.
5. The end almost all the way through.
6. Send the needle back through the other half of the starting ring of chains.
7. Here I’ve brought the end full circle. I can go around again if I want, or I can trim the end.

I hope this technique relieves some of the pain involved in weaving in ends. Please let me know if you try the technique, how you like it.