TIP: Very.Stretchy.BindOff

I did my first toe-up sock (for my preschooler, A) and bound off using a traditional bind off in what I thought was a loose manner. I mean, I knit the sock on a US1 (2.25mm) needle, so binding off with a US3 would be nice and stretchy, right? Wrong. Wouldn't go on over her heel. Very disappointed little girl.

So, as any good sock knitter would do, I consulted the ladies in the SKA. That's Sock Knitters Anonymous on Ravelry. I thought I would compile the responses I received and share them with you.

pgprcrst8n: "look for EZ’s sewn bind off. It’s what I use for my toe-ups. Works great."

rivki: "Knit your first stitch. Knit your second stitch. * You have two stitches on your right needle. Slip the second stitch back to the left needle. Slip the first stitch back to the left needle. Knit both stitches together through the back loop. You’ll have one stitch on your right hand needle. Knit your next stitch. * Repeat the steps between the astericks around the cuff."

Miri: "I speed up the k2togtbl [that rivki describes] by not bothering to slip stitches back to the left hand needle. With stitches on the right, just slip the point of the left needle into the fronts of those stitches (now it looks just the same as if you’s slid the right needle into the backs of 2 stitches on the left) and knit them."

MomofTwins: "I have 2 favorites. 1) A Hemmed cuff. Looks fabulous, adding a professtional touch to the sock. And is quite comfortable. Although will mean a bit more knitting. and 2) a Tubular Bind off. It too looks quite nice. It is a “mantra” bind off like the Kitchener stitch (knit/purl/purl/knit). But is nice and sproingy (if you don’t pull too hard) and looks good too. I hope this is helpful. Here are some links: Tubular Bind off instructions

willknit4food: "I love Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Stretchy Sewn Bind off. It is easy as pie and wonderful! Copied from Weebleknits blog:

Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Sewn Cast off from Knitting Without Tears

Break yarn, leaving a tail about 4 times as long as the circumference of the sock. Thread a tapestry needle.

• sew forward (right to left) through two stitches as if to purl, leave the stitches on. Sew backward (left to right) through one stitch as if to knit and remove the stitch. Repeat from * until you run out of stitches. Work in tail on the inside of the sock and trim any excess.

Denise’s variation for circular knitting (from http://www.socknitters.com): For the very first stitch only, after you go backwards through it, do not remove it, instead move it to be the last stitch on the final needle. It will then become the final stitch to be cast off. This gives a neater finish to the end of the round."

purplemelly: Definitely EZs sewn bind off. There’s a great article on Knitty of different bind offs and it has this one. Linky It’s the last technique on the page.