Binding or Casting Off

An annoyance with most knitting patterns is they can be a bit light on sharing how to finish a project.  Sure it is easy enough to prepare all the pieces, but when it comes to putting the pieces together most patterns say something like:  "Bind off leaving a XX length tail.  Use this tail to sew together with the right sides facing."  Recently the Yarn Harlot had a rather lengthy post about the amount of detail a pattern designer needs to actually put in a pattern.  Click here to see about this in a rather strangely named post, Shades of Grey.  She then goes on the next day to talk about how recipe books and knitting patterns are pretty similar. Both require a certain basic knowledge; for example, a cook needs to know the difference between saute, simmer, and fry, etc. in order to use a cookbook.  Perhaps it is appropriate to expect the same type of basic knowledge from knitters as well.

The first time you attempt to sew a finished piece together it can be hard to wrap your head around doing so with the right sides facing out.  Anyone who has ever used a sewing machine knows to put the right sides together and sew on the wrong to create a seam that doesn't show.  How is having the right sides together ever going to work if the seam you make on a hand sewn knitted garments is done on the right side?  Then there's the whole need to select the right hand-sewing stitch and what to do with all the ends that are left once you are done knitting.  In the end all these details to finishing are what makes a project look well made rather than screaming handmade.

Let's start with simply binding off also known as casting off.  This is done at the point where you've knit the appropriate length or number of rows and have nothing more to knit.  It is now necessary to create a savaged edge where the stitches are no longer live.  The top line of stitches in the photo below have been cast off.

A swatch with the standard cast or bind off at the top

The most conventional way to cast off includes knitting two stitches or slipping one and knitting one, both techniques work (which moves them from the left needle to the right, if you are right-handed) and then passing of the first stitch over the second,  leaving one stitch on the right needle, knit another and do the passing the first over the second again.  This technique is often referred to as the standard cast off and here's a well-documented description about how to do it.  As you can see from the swatch above, the cast on at the bottom of the photo doesn't look much like the top (Yes, I know the garter stitch of the first few rows are different too, from the rest which is done in stockinette stitch, but this doesn't really negate my statement.)  The difference really doesn't matter if one or both of the edges will be used to create a seam, but there are times when this does matter, so a prudent knitter should know other ways to cast off.

Another technique uses a crochet hook to cast off.   The crochet hook is used to make a slip stitch through each of the stitches and leaves a much more finished edge.  Check out the video here that shows you how to do both the crochet hook or standard cast off.  (It takes only about 3 minutes to see both.)

However, there are many more options to cast off including the suspended bind off which produces a more elastic edge and the invisible ribbed cast off worked to end a ribbed stitch pattern.  Both are outlined here.  And if that isn't quite enough, here are several other options to review.  Several of these cast off options are designed to meet very specific needs so be sure to check this wonderful site out if you run in to a particular problem.

In the next few posts I'm going to tackle some other tips and tricks to finishing a project so stay tuned.

Oh, and another waffle is about to come together.  Here it is photographed in a deconstructed state. It should be complete by the end of this evening.  Next I will be tackling the knitted maple syrup.  Stay tuned for that adventure as well.

The pieces of waffle #2