How to cast off with some stretch

Hands up if your cast off is too tight? Amy Kaspar is brave enough to admit it and has found the perfect solution!

Who here has ever made a beautiful sweater, only to find that the neck was bound off too tightly for a human head? (Amy raises her hand). How about a pair of toe-up socks that will not make it past the ankle? (Amy raises her hand and dips her head a bit). What about a top-down hat that left a stitch groove across the forehead because the cast off was so tight?

I have a super-duper stretchy cast off for you that will change your too-tight-stitch self for life. Seriously. It was created by a woman named Jeny Staiman, and it will forever prevent you from casting off too tightly. Ready?

Processing the stitch

This cast off is conducted in the same manner as a traditional cast off, pulling the first stitch over the second stitch on the right needle. There is just one twist, however. Each stitch is preceded by a yarn-over.

Jeny Staiman calls this “processing the stitch.” It will take a few stitches to get into the habit of doing this but, let’s face it, how often are we in a situation where we need some stretch and are only casting off eight stitches? By the end of whatever you are casting off, you will be a pro at the stretchy cast off and the yarn-over will be second nature to you.

Purling

step Purling

If you are purling your cast off stitch, wrap your yarn round the needle like you would for any yarn-over. The yarn-over will go in the same direction as if you were purling a stitch anyway.

Knitting

step Knitting

If you are knitting the next stitch, you will be doing a yarn-over in the other direction.

Instead of wrapping the yarn round the needle as if you were wrapping to knit a stitch, wrap it counter-clockwise, from behind to in front of the needle.

Pro Tip

Remember: Yarn-over for purl stitches are “normal,” and yarn-over for knit stitches are backwards, or wrapped in the other direction.

For the first stitch that you cast off, yarn-over (in whatever is the correct direction for your stitch), work a stitch, and pull the yarn-over over the first stitch just like a regular cast-off.

For all other stitches, you will bring both the yarn-over and the stitch over the most recently-worked stitch at the same time.

After that first stitch your mantra should be “yarn-over, stitch, pull both over, yarn-over, stitch, pull both over…”

The result is a cast off that looks slightly different to a regular cast off. If you look at it from the top, it looks the same. If you look at it from the side, you can see two strands of yarn parallel to each other, more the look of a double crocheted edge (US single crochet).

In addition to how it looks, the cast off feels pretty much like a basic cast off until you stretch it out. That little yarn-over on every stitch is magic. Keep in mind, my demonstration yarn is cotton yarn, where there is no give whatsoever. If you are a death-grip knitter and you always cast off too tightly, this cast off is a great option for you because it keeps its shape and still has some give when you have a death grip.

Other top tips

You do not want to be in the habit of pulling each stitch taut either while you knit it or after it is off the needle. That stretch is just built into the cast off; you do not need to compensate. Let the yarn-over just do its thing.

If you accidentally do your yarn-over clockwise for your knit stitches, you will still have quite a bit of stretch, but you will also have a hole where your yarn-over was next to the cast off stitch.

Since this cast off is relatively invisible (meaning no picots, no dangles, and nothing obviously lacy or fancy), it can be used to replace any bind off or cast off that you would normally use at the height of something stretchy and nobody has to know.

This is not a 'cheat', ladies and gentlemen; this is magic." - Amy Kaspar

This is not only a good idea if you cast off too tightly. It can be used as a fix for when you cast on too tightly as well. Do you generally have to go up a needle size or two for your cast on or else it will be too tight? How about doing a provisional cast on, removing your scrap yarn later and then casting back off using 'Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off'? Yes, it is an extra step, but for some knitters that first edge is the difference between a good finished piece and a bad finished piece.

While this cast off has an extra step per stitch compared to a regular cast off, the generosity of stitches afterward is well worth the extra work. You will never again have a pair of socks that do not make it to the top, a hat that does not make it around the head, a jumper that cannot be pulled over the noggin, or a sleeve that will not allow your hand to poke through. Pay attention to the direction of your yarn-overs, and I promise you will be golden.