Knitaway and Bind off

 The second week of the Knitaway® in the Studio was just as inspiring as the first and produced some interesting technical discoveries.  We continued exploring stretchy bind off methods, perfect for the outer edge of shawls.  Here are two technique samplers that used the same bind off, a variation I call the Very Stretchy and Beautiful Bind Off, an all knit bind off, inspired by Margaret Stove's Shetland method that we explored in a post last month. Take a look. The light-colored sampler was bound off on the right side and the purple one was bound off on the wrong side (clever Dorothy!).  Can you see the wonderful difference?

Here are the instructions for the all knit variation so you can give it a go:

                                            Very Stretchy and Beautiful Bind Off
It is suggested that you use a smaller needle (one or two sizes smaller than for the shawl) for this technique as this is a very, very relaxed bind off edge.
Work as follows:
Knit two stitches, then *insert the left hand needle into the front of the two stitches on the right hand needle (as if doing an SSK), and knit the two stitches together through the back loop, knit 1, and repeat from *.

        A  close up of the two results side by side reveals the magic.  On the top is the wrong-side bind off and below is the right-side bind off.  I love them both and will definitely keep these on hand for that special edge.  Simple to do, extremely functional, stretchy, and beautiful to boot! Nothing like a fabulous finish.