Binding Off Methods for Knit And Purl Stitches

"Binding off"(bind off) or "Casting off" is a method used for closing off the loops in knitting to prevent them from raveling off. We knit bind off stitch at the end of each work piece, arm edge or as indicated in chosen patterns.

Here are the basic Binding Off (casting off) Methods I'm listing on this page;
Knit Method
Purl Method
Crochet Method
3-Needle-Bind Off Method

How To Bind Off The Knit Stitch

1. Knit the first and the second stitches.


Image 2.1


Image 2.2


Image 2.3

2. Lift the first knitted stitch over the second stitch by using the left needle to pick up the front of the first stitch and lift it over the second stitch and drop it off the the right needle. see image 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3.
3. Knit the third stitch and lift the second stitch over it and slip it off the left needle.
4. Continue knitting in this manner until end of work. You’ll end up with the last stitch on the right needle.
5. Cut of the yarn leaving 3 inches tail.


6. Pass the end of yarn through the last loop and pull it tight to secure. Weave the rest of the yarn in back of work between stitches.


Now you’ve just finish casting off the knit stitch.

How To Bind Off the Purl Stitch

This method is pretty much the same as binding off for the Knit stitch except picking up the back loop to instead of the front loop during passover.



1. Purl the first and the second stitches.




2. Pass the first stitch over the second stitch by picking up the first stitch from the back loop and lift it over the second stitch and slip it off the left needle.
3. Purl the third stitch and slip the second stitch over and slip off the right needle.

4. Continue knitting in this way until end of work. Finish off the last stitch as the same way as knit bind off.

How to Bind off using crochet hook

Some knitters find it easier to bind off knitting with crochet hook. I have tried this method several times and I found that my cast off stitches look and feel tighter than the other ways. So, my best advice is to choose a crochet hook that is the same size or slightly bigger than the knitting needle , otherwise the binding off stitches will be too tight.

Here is the crochet hook binding off technique:
1. Choose appropriate crochet hook for casting off. Wrap yarn around left index finger 2-3 times while holding needle which hold your work piece with the rest of the fingers of your left hand. Make sure the yarn is at back of work.



2. Hold a crochet hook in your right hand and insert it through the first stitches as to knit.



Image 3.1: Wrap yarn



Image 3.2: Pull through the loop



Image 3.3: Slip the stitch off the needle

3. Wrap the yarn around the hook and pull it through the loop of the first stitch. Slip the working stitch off the left needle. Now you end up with new stitch on the hook.




4. Repeat step 2 and 3. Now you have two stitches on the crochet hook.




5. Pull the new loop on the crochet hook through the first stitch on the crochet hook.




6. Continue working this way until you have the last stitch on the crochet hook. Cut yarn leaving 3 inches tail and thread it through the loop. Pull tight to secure. Weave the rest of the yarn to back of work between stitches. This will wrap up the crochet-binding off.

How to Make 3-Needle Binding Off

3-needle-needle binding off is usually done when joining 2 unfinished pieces together to form one single bind off. Example of this type of casting off is shoulder seems.

Here is the technique;



1. Holding both pieces of work on the left hand and with the needles pointing in the same direction.



2. With the same size needle in the right hand, insert it through first stitches on both left needles.



3. Knit these 2 stitches at once.



4. Knit the second stitches from both left needles at once.



5. Pass the first knitted stitch on the right needle over the second stitch and slip it off the needle.
6. Continue in this manner until the end. Finishing it off as the same way as other bind off methods.
And there you have it a 3-needle binding off.

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Leave Binding Off To Knitting Instructions Home Page

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I finished this hat awhile ago but didn’t get a chance to post it. It is my experimental piece. The Pom Pom can be remove when you want to put up a pony tail. Thanks to my models who can tolerates such condition. :)

A post shared by Knitstitches (@knitstitches) on Feb 10, 2019 at 9:19pm PST