How to Bind Off
What do you do with all those stitches on the needle, when your scarf is as long as you'd like? Basic Knit Bind-off will suit the majority of your binding off needs.
Basic Knit Bind-Off
How to do the most common bind-off method
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Slip or knit the first stitch. *Knit the next stitch. Pass the first stitch over the second. Repeat from *.
Basic Purl Bind-Off
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Slip or purl the first stitch. *Purl the next stitch. Pass the first stitch over the second. Repeat from *.
Purl Bind-off shown on knit side
Suspended Bind-Off
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This has the same results as Basic Knit BO, but for some people working it this way creates a looser BO. (Not for me; the result is exactly the same, so I just stick with Basic Knit BO.)
Slip or knit the first stitch. Knit the next. *pass the first stitch over the second, leaving the passed stitch on the left needle. Knit one, and slide passed stitch and knit stitch off the left needle. Repeat from *.
Single Crochet Bind-Off
Insert crochet hook into first stitch. Pull a loop of yarn through stitch. *Insert hook into next stitch. Pull a loop of yarn through both loops on the hook. Repeat from *.
Double Crochet Bind-Off
A nice decorative edge for pockets, etc.
Insert hook knit-wise into first loop, and wrap yarn around hook as if to knit. Pull yarn through loop. *Work the next stitch the same way, so you have two loops on the hook. Wrap yarn around hook the same way, and pull yarn through both loops. Repeat from *.
Sloped Bind-Off
Ideal for shoulder or neck shaping, this BO avoids the stair stepping that is caused by a series of BO's.
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*One row before the next BO row, work to the last stitch on the row. Do not work this stitch. Turn the work. Slip the first stitch from left needle p-wise. Pass the unworked stitch over the slipped stitch. Continue bind-off as planned.* Repeat from * for every BO row you want sloped.
Binding off "In Pattern"
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The simplest BO for ribbing, or other pattern stitches. Simply knit the stitches you should knit before binding them off, and purl the stitches you should purl, to stay in your pattern stitch.
Knit-One Purl-One Bind-Off
A very nice BO for ribbing
This is a bind-off for K1 P1 ribbing. I almost didn't include it on this site, because sometimes a video can be harder to learn from than written instructions. But I think I did a pretty clear job of it.
If you're familiar with the kitchener stitch, you may prefer to work this BO in this way: Transfer all of the knit stitches to one needle, and behind this needle, place all the purl stitches on a second needle. Sew the stitches from the two needles together, as for the kitchener stitch.
One-Over-Two Bind-Off
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This BO pulls the stitches together for a gathered edge. Vogue Knitting says this BO is ideal "[for] pattern stitches that have a great deal of lateral spread, such as allover traveling cables or openwork stitches."
Work 3 stitches. *Insert the left needle into the first stitch. Pass the first stitch over the next two. Work one more stitch onto the right needle. Repeat from *.
Three Needle Bind-Off
This is for binding off two pieces together, creating a seam (shown) between them.
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With right sides facing each other, insert the tip of a third needle into the first stitch of one needle, then into the first stitch of the other needle. Knit two stitches together. (Again), *knit the first stitch from each needle together. Pass the previous stitch over this stitch. Repeat from *
