How to Bind Off a Knitting Loom
Once you finish a loom knitting project, you can't simply pull the live stitches from the loom's hooks unless you want your work to unravel. Instead, you must bind off the live stitches. Although you can use several methods to remove your knitting from the loom, one of the easiest is the crochet bind-off. You can use this bind-off method to remove tubular knits from round knitting looms and double-sided, flat knits from knitting boards, which are narrow, rectangular-shaped looms with two rows of pegs.
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Instructions
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Knitting Board Bind-Off
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1
Break your yarn, leaving a tail that measures at least 5 inches in length, then position your knitting board so the cut yarn tail is on the left side of the board.
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2
Slip the stitch from the first front row peg on the right side of the loom onto a crochet hook, and then slip the stitch from the corresponding back row peg onto the crochet hook. This stitch should sit in front of the first one.
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3
Draw the stitch from the back row peg through the stitch from the front row peg. You've just completed your first bind-off stitch.
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4
Pick up the stitch from the next front row peg, place it on your crochet hook and draw it through the previous stitch. Pick up the corresponding back row stitch and repeat.
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5
Continue binding off in the established pattern, alternating between picking up a stitch from a front row peg and a back row peg.
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6
When you reach the last stitch, wrap your yarn tail around the crochet hook from back to front, draw it through the final stitch and pull to secure the bound-off edge.
Circular Loom Bind-Off
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7
Break your yarn, leaving a 5-inch tail.
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8
Remove the loop from the peg to the left of your final stitch and place it on a crochet hook.
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9
Pick up the loop from the next peg to the left, place it on the crochet hook and draw it through the first loop.
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10
Continue picking up the next loop to the left and drawing it through the previous stitch until you've freed your knitting from the loom. At this point you should still have one loop around your crochet hook.
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11
Wrap the yarn tail around the crochet hook, starting at the back and wrapping over toward the front, draw it through the loop and pull tightly to complete your bind-off.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want to create a tubular knit that closes at the top, cut a yarn tail that measures about 12 inches in length and thread it through a yarn needle. Draw the threaded needle through all the loops on the pegs, beginning with the last stitch you knit and working clockwise. Remove the loops from the pegs when you've sewn through all of them and pull the yarn tight to close the end.
When knitting with a loom, use yarn that is at least bulky weight. Using thinner yarns may make your stitches look loose and sloppy.
References
- Photo Credit crochet and knitting image by Ivonne Wierink from Fotolia.com
