How To: Bind Off or Cast Off Knitting

You have learned to Cast On, you know how to do the Knit Stitch and the Purl Stitch.  Now you've come to the end of your first project and you don't know what to do next.  You will need to know how to Bind Off.  Binding off, sometimes called Casting off, is how you end your work.  Follow these instructions to learn how to bind off on a Knit Row.  Binding off on a Purl row is different. 

• Knit the first 2 stitches onto the new needle.
• Insert left needle into the front of the stitch you knitted first, and pull it over the second stitch and completely off the needle.  Put your index on the 2nd stitch to hold it in place and keep it from falling off the needle. This is a Yarn Over and one stitch is now bound off.
• Knit one more stitch, insert left needle into first stitch on right needle, and pull it over the new stitch and completely off the needle like before.  Another stitch is bound  off.
• Knit one more stitch and repeat steps 2 and 3. Continue this process until you  have one stitch remaining on the needle.
• Cut  the yarn and pull it through last stitch.

Tips

• When you're making a garment leave a long strand to use later for sewing.
• If you're project is a scarf or blanket, leave only a few inches of yarn that you will weave in.