How to Cast Off a Knitted Scarf
The ability to knit -- and knit well -- brings a sense of satisfaction. Homemade scarves and afghans are the most basic beginning projects. A scarf is easily knit in a day or less. A scarf also allows you to get your feet wet, practicing basic skills. But the most beautiful knitting ends as nothing without casting the stitches off the needles. Casting off results in the completed edge of the project. It's truly simple to cast off, and in the end you will have a beautiful scarf for chilly days.
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Instructions
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Grasp the knitting needles in your hands as if you are going to knit the next row; for most people, this will result in the needle with the stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right.
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Knit the first stitch of the cast off row, using the same pattern stitch you used in previous rows. For a garter stitch, for instance, insert your empty needle, from the front of the first loops and up to the back rear of the loop, then wrap the incoming yarn (the free end of the skein you are working with) around the needle counterclockwise, from back to front and on top of the yarn. The tail end of the yarn will rest between the two needles and hang on the left.
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The incoming yarn creates the next stitch when pulled through the previous stitch's loop. Place your right index finger near the tip of the needle to hold the yarn end down between the needles and control the loops as you work. Use the empty knitting needle's tip to catch the yarn wrap, resting directly between the two needles, and pull the yarn through the loop on the left needle and toward you.
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Move the left needle tip toward the left as you simultaneously slip the left loop off the needle; the yarn you wrapped around the needle to make your stitch is now the loop on your previously empty right needle, and it was pulled through the loop that was on the left needle. The width of the scarf is now spanning both needles.
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Knit the second stitch exactly like the first stitch, wrapping the yarn around your right needle and snagging it, with your right needle tip, and pulling it through the loop. Slip the loop off the left stitch as the new loop, along with the knitting flowing below it, transfers to the right needle.
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Needle tips control the movement of the loops in knitting. Grasp the first loop on your right knitting needle -- the first stitch created -- and pull it over the second stitch on the right needle's loop, using the needle tip to aid you. Pull the second stitch through the first loop you are grasping, sliding the first loop down the depth of the first loop. This results in the first loop finished off and the second loop the only loop still on the right knitting needle.
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Knit your third stitch as normal, wrapping the yarn around and pulling it through the last row's loop, then sliding it off the left needle. More yarn now spans between the two needles and two loops are, again, on the right needle.
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Cast off the stitch again, pulling the second loop (the third stitch created) through the first loop (which was your second stitch). Once again there is one loop on your right needle and the rest of the scarf remaining on your left needle.
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Work across the rest of the row on your left needle, first knitting one more stitch, then sliding the loop of the newest stitch through the loop of the previous stitch on your right needle. This creates a braid-like edge, with either side of the loop just cast off forming the sides of the braid.
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Casting off is essential for any finished project. Pull on the last loop remaining on your right stitch, enlarging it to several inches to make it easy to work with. Cut the free end of the yarn several inches away. Insert the cut end of the yarn through the enlarged loop and pull the stitch tight to finish the casting off. Tuck the end as appropriate.
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Tips & Warnings
Different stitches require the stitch used in casting off to vary. The actual cast off -- pulling one stitch's loop through the other -- remains the same.
Don't be afraid to try. A little practice and you will cast off with ease.
References
Resources
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