How to Cast Off the Last Knit Stitch

Casting off prevents your knitting from unraveling.

After putting in all the time and effort on a knitting project, finally the time comes to finish the knitting. Casting off, also called binding off, is the process of finishing a piece of knitting and tying off the ends so that the project does not become unraveled. Casting off is easy, and follows the same process whether you are casting off a knit stitch or a purl stitch.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors

Instructions

1. Knit two of the stitches from the left hand needle to the right hand needle as you normally would.

2. Grip the first or bottom stitch of the two stitches you just knit onto the right hand needle with your fingers, and pull it upwards, over the top or second stitch. Continue to pull this stitch up and over the needle and off of the needle. There should now be only one stitch remaining on the right hand needle.

3. Knit another stitch as normal from the left hand needle to the right hand needle, so there are again two stitches on the right hand needle.

4. Repeat Step 2, pulling the stitches over each other and continuing to make new stitches until all but the last stitch has been cast off.

5. Cut the yarn from the ball to create a 1-inch tail. Remove the last stitch from the needle and pull this tail through the last stitch by hand, pulling to make it tight. The yarn can be trimmed further if desired.

References

• The Knitting Site: How to Cast Off

Resources

• A OK Corral: How to Cast Off