Knitting guide

How to bind off knitting: basic, stretchy and three-needle

Updated October 5, 2026 by Khokhar Sab

To bind off, knit 2 stitches, then lift the first stitch on the right needle over the second and off the needle. Knit 1 more stitch and lift the previous one over it again. Repeat until 1 stitch is left, cut the yarn with a 6 inch tail and pull it through that last loop. Keep the tension loose so the edge stays as stretchy as the fabric.

Binding off, also called casting off, closes the live stitches on your needle so they can't unravel. Start with the basic method below. Ribbed cuffs, necklines and toe-up socks need more stretch, and shoulder seams can be joined and bound off in one step. Each has its own section further down.

How to bind off knitting, step by step

This is the standard knit bind-off, as Sarah Maker and Nimble Needles teach it. Work it on a right side row.

1. Knit 2 stitches. You now have 2 stitches on the right needle.
2. Insert the left needle into the first stitch you knit. That is the stitch farther from the tip of the right needle.
3. Lift it over the second stitch and off the needle. One stitch is bound off and 1 stitch stays on the right needle.
4. Knit 1 more stitch. You have 2 stitches on the right needle again.
5. Lift the first stitch over the second, as before.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until every stitch on the left needle is used and 1 stitch is left on the right needle.
7. Cut the yarn and pull the tail through the last loop. Pull it snug. The section on the last loop below covers tail length and a neater finish.

Binding off purlwise and in pattern

To bind off purlwise, purl the stitches instead of knitting them and keep the yarn at the front. The lift-over is the same. Sarah Maker uses this when the row you would work next is a purl row.

Nimble Needles points out that the basic bind-off adds one last row of knit stitches. On stockinette that row sits on the right side, where it blends in. Bind off on the wrong side and those stitches show as purl bumps on the front. Garter stitch looks the same from either side, so it doesn't matter there.

For ribbing, bind off in pattern: knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches as you reach them, lifting over after each one. Sarah Maker does this so the edge keeps the look of the rib. Nimble Needles adds that stretchy patterns such as ribbing need a looser bind-off, with a bigger needle or wider loops.

How many stitches you bind off at a hem, neckline and cuff

Here is how many stitches each finishing edge holds for a top-down raglan, worked out with the sweater calculator at 20 stitches per 4 inches and 3 inches of ease.

The hem binds off every body stitch, so a 37 inch chest means 200 stitches in one go. The neckband column uses Elizabeth Zimmermann's rule that the neck holds 40% of the body stitches. That is the edge you bind off if you knit the sweater from the bottom up or pick up a neckband afterward. The percentage system guide explains where the 40% comes from.

Socks work the same way. A toe-up sock ends with the cuff, so you bind off the full leg count. With the sock calculator at 32 stitches per 4 inches, 10% negative ease and 2x2 rib.

The sock is smaller than the foot by design, so the cuff has to stretch over the heel and still hold its shape on the leg. That is why the cuff needs a stretchy bind-off. The ease guide explains why socks fit with negative ease.

Stretchy bind-offs for necklines, cuffs and toe-up socks

Wikipedia describes the basic bind-off as tight with little stretch. That suits a shoulder that has to hold its length. It can be too firm for a neckline that has to pass over a head or a sock cuff that goes over a heel. Start with the simple fixes:

• Use a bigger needle. Nimble Needles suggests one or two sizes larger than the body for the bind-off row. Sarah Maker suggests one size up for knitters who bind off tightly.
• Make the loops wider. Pull each new stitch out a little longer before you lift the old one over it.
• Bind off in pattern on ribbing, as in the section above.

When that isn't enough, use a bind-off built for stretch. Jeny Staiman published Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off (JSSBO) in Knitty in fall 2009. She names hats, sweater necks and "especially toe-up socks" as the places to use it. It adds a yarn over before every stitch:

1. Before a knit stitch, make a backward yarn over. Bring the yarn from the back, over the right needle and to the front. Knit the stitch, then lift the yarn over across it and off the needle.
2. Before a purl stitch, make a regular yarn over. Bring the yarn from the front, over the right needle and to the back. Purl the stitch, then lift the yarn over across it.
3. Work the first 2 stitches this way, then lift the first stitch over the second, as in a basic bind-off.
4. Repeat: work the next stitch with its yarn over, then lift the previous stitch over it. Continue until 1 stitch is left.

On ribbing, follow the rib: backward yarn over before each knit stitch, regular yarn over before each purl. With one yarn over per stitch, a cuff of 56 stitches gets 56 extra loops worked into its edge. Staiman also warns against snugging each stitch tight after you work it.

Knotions notes that JSSBO leaves a zigzag edge, and that the zigzag is part of what makes it stretch. If you dislike the look, Wikipedia lists other stretchy options. The sewn bind-off uses a tapestry needle and the yarn tail. The tubular bind-off suits ribbed edges and necklines.

The three-needle bind-off

The three-needle bind-off joins two pieces with live stitches and binds them off in the same row. Wikipedia gives sweater shoulders as the usual example, and Knotions calls it a strong choice for shoulder seams.

1. Check the counts. Both pieces need the same number of stitches, still live on their needles.
2. Hold the needles parallel with the right sides of the knitting facing each other. The wrong sides face out.
3. Knit the first pair together. Put a third needle knitwise into the first stitch on the front needle, then into the first stitch on the back needle. Knit them together as one stitch.
4. Knit the next pair together the same way. You have 2 stitches on the third needle.
5. Lift the first stitch over the second, as in a basic bind-off.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until 1 stitch is left, then cut the yarn and pull it through.

Because the right sides face each other, the ridge of the seam ends up inside the garment. To graft live stitches together with no ridge at all, as at a sock toe, use Kitchener stitch instead.

How to fix a tight bind-off

Check the edge before you weave in the end. Stretch it next to the fabric below. If the edge stops stretching before the fabric does, it is too tight.

Nimble Needles suggests undoing a tight bind-off one stitch at a time from the tail end and picking up each freed loop with the left needle. The site prefers this to knitting backward. Once every stitch is back on the needle, bind off again with a bigger needle, wider loops or JSSBO.

Sarah Maker covers the other common slip: a stitch that drops off while you lift it over. Put it straight back on the left needle and carry on.

The last loop and weaving in the end

Sarah Maker cuts the yarn about 6 inches from the work. Itchin' for Some Stitchin' suggests 12 inches or more if you will use that tail to sew a seam. Pull the tail all the way through the last loop and tighten it.

The last stitch of a bind-off often sticks out at the corner. Nimble Needles neatens it by knitting the last stitch together with the stitch one row below it before binding it off.

In the round, the bind-off spirals, so a small step shows where the round began and ended. Nimble Needles closes it with the tail. Thread it on a tapestry needle and pass it under the two legs of the stitches on both sides of the gap. Pull it tight and weave it in.

To weave in, thread the tail on a tapestry needle and run it diagonally through 5 to 8 stitches on the wrong side, as Nimble Needles shows. If both sides of the piece will show, run it along the bound-off edge instead.

Common questions

Is binding off the same as casting off?

Yes. Wikipedia lists casting off as another name for the same family of techniques, and patterns use both terms. The cast-on guide covers the other end of the work.

Which side do I bind off on?

On the right side for stockinette, so the extra row of knit stitches blends in. Garter stitch looks the same either way. If the pattern says to bind off on a wrong side row, bind off purlwise so the stitches read as knits from the front.

Why is my bound-off edge tighter than my cast-on?

Wikipedia describes the basic bind-off as tight, with little stretch. Use a needle one or two sizes larger for the bind-off row, or switch to a stretchy method. For the stitch count to cast on in the first place, the cast-on calculator works it out from your gauge.

Sources and further reading

Nimble Needles shows each step in photos in How to bind off knitting for beginners, with the last stitch fix and binding off in the round. Sarah Maker covers purlwise and ribbed bind-offs and troubleshooting in How to Bind Off (Cast Off) Knitting. Jeny Staiman explains her method in Jeny's surprisingly stretchy bind off in Knitty. Knotions has a photo tutorial for the three-needle bind-off, and Wikipedia's binding off article compares the main methods.

Video tutorial

"How to BIND OFF Knitting for Total Beginners" by Sheep & Stitch, on YouTube. The video loads only when you press play.