When we bind off stitches of a seamless project, we inevitably get a gap and a jog between the first and the last stitches.
The gap happens because the first and the last stitches of the edge are not linked.
The jog happens because when we knit in the round, we don’t actually knit in the round. We knit in a spiral. When the spiral ends, we see a “step”.
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A great way to fix this gap is described over here.
It links the first and the last stitches to make the edge look seamless, but it doesn’t do much to fix the jog. It somewhat masks it, but it’s not enough if you are after a truly jogless look.
I faced this issue recently as I was binding off stitches of a seamless sweater. Even after I fixed the gap, the jog was pretty evident. To fix it, I borrowed a trick used in crochet and adapted it to knitting.
In three simple steps, this trick evens out the jog and removes the “step” by bringing the first and the last stitches of the edge to the same level. It also closes the gap between the stitches.
HOW TO FIX THE JOG AND CLOSE THE GAP
We start the jog-eliminating process when we are about to bind off the last stitch. Stop binding off stitches when you have two last stitches on your right needle.
STEP 1
Find the top part of the stitch below the first bound-off stitch. It is the strand that sits at the bottom of the two legs of a stitch that forms the first chain of the edge.
Insert the right needle from front to back under that strand.
Make sure you don’t go directly into that stitch. If you do, you will form a tiny hole below the bind-off edge. Not ideal. It is better to go under the top part of the stitch rather than into the stitch itself.
Wrap the tip of the right needle with the yarn as we do when we knit a stitch.
And pull this wrap through, adding one more stitch to the right needle.
This move gives us a result that is similar to making a slip stitch in crochet.
STEP 2
Now let’s bind off the remaining stitches.
Insert the tip of the left needle from left to right into the second and the third stitches on the right needle.
Pass these two stitches over the stitch we made in the previous step and off the needles.
STEP 3
Cut the yarn and pull the yarn tail out, turning the last loop into a strand of yarn.
There is no jog and no gap anymore. But the edge still doesn’t look seamless.
Let’s fix this.
HOW TO MAKE THE EDGE LOOK SEAMLESS
Thread the tail we formed in step 3 into a wool needle and insert the wool needle from front to back under both legs of the first bound-off stitch.
Pull the yarn through until the strand between the stitches is approximately as long as one leg of any stitch that forms the bind-off edge.
Now insert the wool needle from the top down under the right leg of the last bound-off stitch and its companion stitch (the one we passed over the newly formed stitch in step 2).
Pull the yarn through, adjust the length of the strand, and hide the yarn tail on the wrong side of the fabric.
This simple trick is a great way to finish bind-off edges of seamless hats, cowls, sweaters, cardigans, and toe-up socks.
HERE’S A VIDEO TUTORIAL THAT SHOWS EVERY STEP
No more jogs, “steps”, gaps, and broken chains of stitches at the bind-off edges of our projects knitted in the round.
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