bindoff

Technique of the Week: Binding off

Since I did a cast on last week, I thought I'd do a bind off this week.

This technique is really just a traditional knit bind off, performed in a slightly different way.  Normally you would knit two stitches, and then pull the first stitch over the second stitch.  Here you knit the first stitch and then slip it back to the left needle (leaving the right needle in it) and knit the second stitch through the first one.  The result is the exact same yarn topography, but it's more efficient (once you practice it for a bit) and it's also much looser because you have both of your needles going through that first stitch keeping it from pulling closed.  

I really love this bind off and use it most often.  I also use the same technique in place of SSK for left leaning decreases most of the time.  It's the sweet spot between fast and looking good for most applications for me.