In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to work the Icelandic bind-off. I must admit, I’m not sure how it came by its name. I do know that it’s a bind-off that gives a very stretchy cord-like edge to your work. For this reason, it’s often advised for binding off long stretches of garter stitch. In this tutorial, however, I made a little swatch in stockinette to show you how to do it.
Materials used
Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color Marine.
Needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.
Working the Icelandic bind-off step by step
- To start, knit the first stitch on the needle.
- Next, slip the stitch just worked from the right-hand needle back to the left-hand needle purl-wise.
The reason for slipping it back, purl-wise, is that we want this stitch to be mounted twisted.
- Now insert the right-hand needle as if to purl into the first stitch on the left-hand needle….
- … then insert the right-hand needle as if to knit into the next stitch on the needle.
This is how that looks:
- Next, wrap your yarn around the needle…
- …. and pull it through.
- Next, slip both stitches off the needle.
- Repeat steps 2-7 until only 1 stitch is left.
To completely finish the bind-off, break the yarn, and pull the end through this last loop.
And that’s all there is to it!
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