Binding off

Last updated

In knitting, binding off, or casting off, is a family of techniques for ending a column (a wale) of stitches. Binding off is typically used to define the final (usually upper, taking the cast on edge as the lower) edge of a knitted fabric, although it may also be used in other contexts, e.g., in making button holes. In principle, binding off is the opposite of casting on, but the techniques are generally not mirror images of one another. Sometimes, however, they can produce a mirror image appearance.

Contents

Techniques

Binding/casting off generally involves passing the final loop of a wale over the loop of an adjacent stitch. Techniques differ, however, in how this is done:

Simple bind/cast off
Involves simply passing each loop over an adjacent stitch. (The yarn is passed through the final loop to secure the whole chain.) This technique produces a tight edge with little elasticity. Its advantages are that
  1. it does not flare as many bound/cast-off edges do;
  2. it will retain its length, even under tension (good for shoulder seams);
  3. it does not require that the knitting yarn be nearby;
  4. it can be done in any direction.
Knit bind/cast off
Involves knitting each loop before passing it over the next loop. The start is made by knitting two stitches as normal, then pulling the first knitted stitch on the right needle over the second knitted stitch on the right needle, knitting the next stitch on the left needle, and continuing to the end. This can be done tightly or loosely, depending on the tension of the knitter. To ensure that the bind/cast-off edge is loose, one method is to use a needle at least two sizes larger than the project needle size.
Purl bind/cast off
Involves purling each loop before passing it over the next loop. This is simply the purl version of the knit bind/cast off. This can also be in patterns, such as a rib pattern.
Decrease bind/cast off
Involves iterative decreases, e.g., "k2tog, return loop to left needle".
Sewn bind/cast off
This involves the use of a tapestry needle with an extremely long tail of the yarn. Using this long tail, pull the needle through two front loops as if to purl, then back through the first stitch as if to knit. Drop the first stitch off. Repeat to the end. There are several variations, but this is the most well-known. [1]
Three needle bind/cast off
This bind/cast off is used for joining two pieces of knitting, such as the front and back of a sweater by binding/casting off their stitches together to create a seam. For this bind/cast off, the two needles (in the case of a sweater, each may hold the shoulder stitches) are held parallel with the right sides of the knitting facing each other. Binding/casting off as with the knit bind/cast off, each stitch is the result of knitting together one stitch from each needle (i.e. pass needle through first stitch of first needle, first stitch of second needle, wrap yarn, pull through, and drop both stitches)
Tubular bind/cast off
A stretchy bind/cast off used on a ribbed edge; most helpful for sock and neckline edges.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knitting</span> Method of forming fabric

Knitting is a method for production of textile fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done by hand or by machine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knitting needle</span>

A knitting needle or knitting pin is a tool in hand-knitting to produce knitted fabrics. They generally have a long shaft and taper at their end, but they are not nearly as sharp as sewing needles. Their purpose is two-fold. The long shaft holds the active (unsecured) stitches of the fabric, to prevent them from unravelling, whereas the tapered ends are used to form new stitches. Most commonly, a new stitch is formed by inserting the tapered end through an active stitch, catching a loop of fresh yarn and drawing it through the stitch; this secures the initial stitch and forms a new active stitch in its place. In specialized forms of knitting the needle may be passed between active stitches being held on another needle, or indeed between/through inactive stitches that have been knit previously.

Intarsia is a knitting technique used to create patterns with multiple colours. As with the woodworking technique of the same name, fields of different colours and materials appear to be inlaid in one another, fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

English knitting, also known as right-hand knitting or throwing, is a style of Western knitting where the yarn to be knit into the fabric is carried in the right hand. This style is prevalent throughout the English-speaking world, though it is by no means universal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knitting machine</span> Device used to create knitted fabrics

A knitting machine is a device used to create knitted fabrics in a semi or fully automated fashion. There are numerous types of knitting machines, ranging from simple spool or board templates with no moving parts to highly complex mechanisms controlled by electronics. All, however, produce various types of knitted fabrics, usually either flat or tubular, and of varying degrees of complexity. Pattern stitches can be selected by hand manipulation of the needles, push-buttons and dials, mechanical punch cards, or electronic pattern reading devices and computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decrease (knitting)</span>

A decrease in knitting is a reduction in the number of stitches, usually accomplished by suspending the stitch to be decreased from another existing stitch or by knitting it together with another stitch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slip-stitch knitting</span> Family of knitting techniques

Slip-stitch knitting is a family of knitting techniques that uses slip stitches to make multiple fabrics simultaneously, to make extra-long stitches, and/or to carry over colors from an earlier row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Increase (knitting)</span> Knitting term

In knitting, an increase is the creation of one or more new stitches, which may be done by various methods that create distinctive effects in the fabric. Most knitting increases either lean towards the left or the right.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casting on (knitting)</span> Family of knitting techniques for adding new stitches

In knitting, casting on is a family of techniques for adding new stitches that do not depend on earlier stitches, i.e., having an independent lower edge. In principle, it is the opposite of binding off, but the techniques involved are generally unrelated.

Knitting abbreviations are often used for brevity in describing knitting patterns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short row (knitting)</span>

In knitting, a short row is a row that is not fully knitted; the work is turned before reaching the end of the row. When working short rows, technique must be employed to prevent holes or gaps where the work is turned. There are several ways to do this. Among the most common are (1) Wrap and Turn, (2) German short rows and (3) Japanese short rows.

Basic knitted fabrics include stocking stitch, reverse stocking stitch, garter stitch, seed stitch, faggoting, and tricot. In some cases, these fabrics appear differently on the right side than on the wrong side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pick up stitches (knitting)</span>

In knitting, picking up stitches means adding stitches to the knitting needle that were previously bound off or belong to the selvage.

In knitting, buttonholes can be made in several ways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knitted fabric</span> Textile material made using knitting techniques, often by machine knitting

Knitted fabric is a textile that results from knitting, the process of inter-looping of yarns or inter-meshing of loops. Its properties are distinct from woven fabric in that it is more flexible and can be more readily constructed into smaller pieces, making it ideal for socks and hats.

Hand knitting is a form of knitting, in which the knitted fabric is produced by hand using needles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowichan knitting</span> Form of knitting of the Cowichan people

Cowichan knitting is a form of knitting characteristic of the Cowichan people of southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The distinctively patterned, heavy-knit Cowichan sweaters, popular among British Columbians and tourists, are produced using this method. Cowichan knitting is an acculturated art form, a combination of European textile techniques and Salish spinning and weaving methods. From this union, new tools, techniques and designs developed over the years.

In knitting, the three needle bindoff is a method of joining two pieces of knitted fabric using three needles. One needle is on each piece of the fabric, and a third needle is used for the knitting.

Arm knitting is a knitting technique which uses the knitter's arms instead of knitting needles. This method of knitting gained popularity during 2013 and 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twined knitting</span> Knitting technique

Twined knitting is a traditional Scandinavian knitting technique. It refers to knitting where two strands of yarn are knitted into the fabric alternatively and twisted once and always in the same direction before every stitch. The technique is called tvåändsstickning in Swedish, tvebandsstrikking in Norwegian, and tvebinding in Danish. Their literal meaning is "two-end knitting", referring to the traditional way of knitting with both yarn ends from one ball of yarn.

References

  1. Zimmerman, Elizabeth (1973). Knitting Without Tears. Simon and Schuster. p. 23. ISBN   9780684135052.

Further reading