OOPS! Fixing Common Mistakes Binding Off (also called Casting Off) Binding off secures the last row of the knitting so that it will not unravel.  Binding off secures the last row of knitting so that it will not unravel.  First knit two stitches, then * with the two stitch- es on the right needle, pass the right stitch over the  left and off the end of the needle. Knit the next  stitch. Repeat from * until the all stitches have been  bound off. After you bind off the last stitch on the  needle, cut the working yarn and pull the cut yarn  through the last stitch to secure it. Bind off the stitches on your practice swatch. What do you do when you’ve knit your way through an entire ball of yarn? It’s time to  join a new ball. There are several ways to do this, but here’s the join I use.  Tie a new ball onto the old ball at the side edge  using the first half of a square knot. Then slide the  half-knot up to just behind the stitch on the needle  and continue knitting with the new ball of yarn.  This method has the advantage of uninterrupted  knitted rows and feels quite stable where the new  ball begins.  I recommend always joining your new yarn at the  beginning of a row so you don’t have a visible join  in the middle of your row. This technique is also known as “tinking,” (“tink” is “knit” spelled backward). Unknitting moves  stitches in reverse, undoing each new stitch from the right needle and replacing the old stitch  on the left. If you’re at the end of a row, leave the full right needle in your right hand, exactly  the opposite of what you’d do normally. If you’re in the middle of a row, find your working yarn  (the end that’s coming from your ball of yarn) and hold the needle it’s attached to in your right  hand. The working yarn comes off the back of the knit stitches. 1. The trick to unknitting is to place the left needle tip into the stitch lying right underneath  the live stitch next to the tip of your right needle. To do this, pull on the working yarn;  the opening created in your stitches points to exactly where to place your left needle. 2. Place your left needle in the opening from front to back ( Figures 1 and 2 ). This captures  the stitch from the previous row without twisting it.  3. Slip this stitch from right needle to left needle. Pull the working yarn to unravel the stitch.  The old stitch now sits on the left needle—one stitch has been unknitted ( Figures 3 and 4 ). 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you arrive at the mistake. Unknitting: Unraveling Stitch by Stitch For Practice Joining New Yarn 7 Copyright © 2011 Interweave. Figure 4 Figure 3 Figure 1 Figure 2