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An Easy Way to Make Your Bind Off Neater

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How to make the end of your bind off neater.I’m sure you’ve noticed how the very last stitch of binding off can look a little messy. It’s usually bigger than the others and you can easily tell which end is the end of the bind off for that very reason.

Yarn Sub mentions the reason for this extra big loop is because there’s extra yarn in that stitch (and every stitch of a bind off, actually), and that to neaten it up you need to get rid of or cover up that extra yarn.

The way the post explains of capturing the extra yarn is to push the loop down, then pull on the yarn end until the elongated stitch straightens out.

There are lots of different methods for dealing with this problem. I often knit the last stitch together with the stitch before it instead of doing a traditional bind off on that stitch, which also helps. If you have a different method for dealing with an ugly end to your bind off (or if you’ve tried this one) I’d love to hear about it.

[Photo via Yarn Sub.]

Comments

  2. The method I use, and it never fails, is when I get to the last stitch I put my right-hand needle into the last stitch from the last row and then into the last bind off stitch, knit these two together and the pass the second last stitch over the last and then finish as above. I never get a dog ear.

Have you read?

Stitch a Simple Sack Hat that Looks Like a Turkey

If your family is the sort to do a turkey trot for Thanksgiving, or even just to take family pictures, you’ll want to get started knitting up some Turkey Sack Hats with this pattern from Underground Crafter. 

The pattern uses super bulky yarn and is rated easy. It’s knit flat but there are a few skills in here around the shaping of the eyes, which includes changing colors, working bobbles and doing a wicked purl 3 together decrease. Twice. 

But that’s all in one row, and the rest of it is pretty simple. The beak is worked separately and sewn on, and the side of the hat is stitched up to make it into a hat. 

What’s great about this one is that it comes in 10 sizes, ranging from newborn to adult large, so you really can make one for everyone in the family. And because it uses super bulky yarn you can knit a bunch pretty quickly if that’s a thing you’d like to do. 

It’s also fun because you could use this base pattern to make different animals or for different holidays. Make it all in orange and stitch on a jack o’lantern face for Halloween, or make a white one that’s a snowman, for example. 

In any style this would also be a fun gag gift for that person in your life who has everything or doesn’t want gifts, or if you do a secret Santa or white elephant gift exchange at work or elsewhere. 

And make sure whether you’re making it a turkey or some other character that you include the pom poms at the top! They’re just so cure and a great way to add a bit more color to the project, and they’re easy to make. (See also: ways to make a pompom with yarn.)

You can grab the free pattern at the Underground Crafter website. 

[Photo: Underground Crafter]