LK-150 Fun

Bind off choices

The Basics · Lesson 5 of 5

Just like in hand knitting, there are many, many ways of binding off your knitting. From plain 'ol, functional bind offs to decorative edges machine knitters have lots of choices. Let's take a look at a couple of basics that are great with your machine.

Drop the work from the machine

When swatching or practicing, sometimes it's OK to just remove the yarn from the yarn feeder, pass the carriage across the needles in work and let the knitting drop from the machine.

Obviously these stitches can easily unravel, but if you are just playing, why take time to bind off?

Simply dropping the work is often done when scrapping off your knitting.

By knitting a few rows of waste yarn, you safely maintain open stitches at the end of your knitting. These stitches can then be re-hung on the machine or picked up with hand knitting needles to finish the piece. (This is similar to using Scrap 'n Ravel cast on methods)

Fast, Secure, Temporary Bind Off

OK, if you are knitting a swatch and you are going to wash it, or you are going to handle your knitted piece a lot, Just leaving open stitches isn't practical you'll want to secure the stitches.

Running the tail of yarn through each stitch is a fast way to secure them.

Sometimes you have a very stretchy, open piece of knitting. Using a regular bind off method may distort the piece. Use this method to temporarily secure the stitches and avoid any distortion.

This is also a good technique for gathering the top of hats. Just run the tail through the stitches, pull tight and secure ... instant gathers!

Back Stitch Bind off

Hand stitching creates a very stretchy bind off.

Bind off by hand

There is no rule that says you have to do EVERYTHING on the machine. If you are a hand knitter, you may want to take the stitches off the machine on a hand knitting needle and work the bind off method of your choice

My Favorite Bind Off - Stitch thru Stitch

Stitch thru stitch bind off that is worked so YOU control the size of the bind off stitches and the tension of the bind off edge. Make it as firm or loose as you like. No guesswork.

Take time to try different bind off methods while you are knitting swatches and practicing techniques. Don't get stuck using only one method.

Part of your journey to learn your machine is to learn different techniques and when to apply them.