How to knit an Elastic Bind Off

The Elastic Bind Off is a fabulously stretchy edge that is perfect for lacy lace shawl edges where you need a lot of give. It’s also well suited for necklines, sock tops, and sleeve cuffs! The best part is how unbelievably simple it is!

You’ll find the results of the Elastic Bind Off to be springy, with just a hint of texture that works beautifully with your favorite lace shawl pattern. Before getting started, let’s compare it to the Traditional Bind Off …

In image below, the top swatch is finished with the Traditional Bind Off, while the bottom is the Elastic Bind Off. Pretty big difference! Each swatch was worked with the same needles, same number of stitches, and same number of rows. I stretched each as far as I could, just for demonstration purposes.

This following image shows a close-up of the slight variation in appearance, with the Traditional being the bottom swatch and the Elastic placed on top of the Traditional.

Ready to give this one a try?

Work the first two stitches as normal. In this example, I’m knitting them.

Insert your left-hand needle into the front of the two stitches you just worked.

Wrap the yarn around the right-hand needle and pull through the two stitches, decreasing one stitch. You’ve worked the two stitches together through the back loop.

Work the next stitch as normal. You’ll have two stitches on the right-hand needle again.