Knitting Basics | How to cast off knitting

Alrighty – you’ve finished your knitting project. How exciting! Now the pattern is telling you to ‘cast off’ (or ‘bind off’ for US folks) a.k.a taking your finished knitting project off the needles. There are many ways to cast off, depending on the stitch style used, but I’ll show you the easiest way to finish off your project.

A cast off creates a neat edge to your knitting project that won’t unravel all of your hard work. It has a braided look along the finished edge, giving your finished project that fresh, clean AF look. Remember to keep the stitches relatively loose so your cast off edge remains stretchy. If you cast off too tightly, you’ll have a curled, tight edge instead and it will look awkward compared to the rest of your project. Now that’s out of the way:

Let’s start

Step 1

Starting on a new row, knit two stitches as normal.

Step 2

Slide the left-hand needle into the first stitch – left to right. Then pull the first stitch (i.e. the one furthest to the right) over the second stitch (i.e. the stitch furthest to the left). 

Step 3

Continue to pull the first stitch over the second stitch and off the needle. Ensure the second stitch remains on the right-hand needle by holding it in place if needed.

Then pull the first stitch off the left-hand needle.

Congrats – you’ve just cast off your first stitch! Now there’s only one stitch on the right-hand needle.

Step 4

Knit one stitch. Repeat steps 1-4 until you reach the very last stitch. Tip: always have two stitches on the right-hand needle whenever you cast off.

Step 5

Cut a 15cm yarn tail to thread through the last stitch and knot. Then weave in the tail end into your knitting project as desired.

 And ta-da! You’ve successfully cast off your knitting project! It’s freeeeee! Now you can wash (according to yarn instructions), block, and wear/ use your project in the real world. Hope this knitting basics series helped you get a start on your first knitting projects. Happy knitting, fam!

Until next time, stay golden.

- Del