Cast off cuffs and Necklines in the round
Casting off 1 x 1 rib patterns the Italian way
In this tutorial I show you how to cast off cuffs (e.g. when knitting toe-up socks or gloves) the Italian way, so that they ar super elastic. This is my favorite method, because the result looks incredibly professional, pretty, and has unmatched elasticity.
Prepare casting off
If you are knitting a different pattern, include one round of 1x1 rib (1 p, 1 k, adjust stitch number if necessary). Always start with a purl stitch. If your round starts with a knitted stich, knit this stitch first.
*Slip the purled stich with yarn in the front, knit 1 stitch*
Repeat until you are back at the beginning of the round.
*Purl 1 stitch, knit 1 stitch with yarn in the back*
Casting off
Cutting the yarn, leaving enough lenght for casting off. Three times the length of your knitted piece should suffice. Thread the yarn through a blunt tapestry needle.
- Insert the tapestry needle from left to right into the first purl stitch and pull the yarn through. Pull the yarn fairly tight. While correcting loose stitches afterwards is possible, it is really tedious.
- Insert the tapestry needle from right to left into the previous knit stitch (which is already on the right needle), and in one go into the next knit stitch. Pull the yarn all the way through.
- Now insert the tapestry needle from right to left again into the first purl stitch, pull the yarn all the way through.
- Now drop the first two stitches (1 p, 1 k) from the left needle.
- Repeat until all stitches are used up.
It seems a bit tedious at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite easy, and the end result is simply fantastic. It's worth it!