“Long Tail” Bind Off
Ack, my internet connection went down for a couple of days. After the cable company tech said there was nothing more he could do for me to correct the problem and that I will have to take my computer in to be checked, my husband was able to get it back online. The mysteries of computers … . Oh, and aren’t husbands great?!
As promised, I’ll detail how I make a bind off look just like a long tail cast on. I examined my cast on edge carefully and picked it apart. This is what I came up with. At the time I hadn’t come across this bind off in some of the current basic reference books. I suppose you could say that I “unvented” it because since then, I’ve found it in June Hemmons Hiatt’s The Principles of Knitting: Methods and Techniques of Hand Knitting
I’m using contrasting coloured yarns for the purpose of illustration.
Start by cutting your working yarn and leaving a long tail—about 3 ½ to 4 times longer than the width of the knitting. Thread it onto a blunt-tipped tapestry needle.
Insert the tapestry needle into the second stitch on your left-hand knitting needle as if to knit and pull the yarn through.
Insert the tapestry needle into the first stitch as if to purl and pull the yarn through. Drop the first stitch off the knitting needle. Take care not to pull too tightly—this is how you control the tension of your bound-off edge.
Repeat the last two steps until you’ve bound off all your stitches.
These two photos compare both the cast-on and bound-off edges on both sides of the work. They look the same. (Click any photos to enlarge.)
The sleeve for my cardigan is now finished, using this bind off method. Can you tell which sleeve has the cast on edge and which has the bind off edge? I would consider the surgery and unqualified success!