Bind Off - Just Won't Budge!

How-to Questions
1

Hi

Am about ready to make up a toddler’s cardigan (knitted on straight needles) and noticed that the left front is one row longer than the back and the right front.

Shouldn’t be a prob. undo the bind off, frog one row … piece a cake … - except I just can’t unravel the bind off. ( I did the normal bind off - one stitch over the other on right needle - looks like a row of Vs.)

I undid the little knot at final stitch and gently tugged but the blasted thing just WON’T undo. The Vs are just sitting there and refuse to be evicted.

Anything I can do, please, besides getting the scissors out? I’ve never had to frog a bind off before.:shrug:

Many Thanks

2

That’s odd. Bindoffs usually pop right out. Are you sure you’re doing it from the right side–starting with the side you ended with?

Maybe you can snip one of the stitches at the end and it will be easier.:shrug:

3

I agree
and if you cut the stitch in the middle of the loop instead of the end, it makes a new closing knot

Good luck, if I lived closer i would do it for you
I love that kind of challenge

ecb

4

ecb…I could do with you around as I HATE that kind of thing but I have never been able to undo that cast off. If I snip it has tended to make it worse. I actually suspect it’s the loop at the end that’s the problem…that it has come from the row underneath and so needs to be undone and removed down into row before bind off and then up again into the bind off.

I would do a swatch and fiddle with that before doing anything to your item Limey

5

Thanks so much everyone - I’ll go and have one more bash at the beast!

Brilliant idea, Susan, about doing a swatch. I’ll let you all know what happens.

Yours in knots with Best Wishes

[COLOR=SeaGreen]Limey[/COLOR]

6

Many Thanks … Did It!

First, I went back to the pattern to check I’d cast off on the right side, per instructions - that was ok.

Hmm - I felt sure you were all right, that the prob. was the at the final stitch but I couldn’t actually SEE clearly what I’d done, until I used a magnifying glass!

I grabbed a straight pin and managed to undo the next knot with it and the first V started to come loose. Did the same with the third knot and … Bingo! … stitches started to unravel.

So, unless I did the bind off wrong, there seems to be three knots to undo before frogging.

I’m going to buy another ironing board, so that I can pin out the pieces of knitting as I complete them. That way, I could have seen that the left side was a bit short, (although the row count was correct) and fixed it while I was still knitting - I keep using the ironing board for unnecessary stuff, like ironing shirts - terrible waste!

There were only 16 stitches to be cast off - 8 on alternate rows - so, ironing board or not, I’m going to put them on a stitch holder next time I make todder’s cardi and then cast off as I’m making up.

Thanks so much again, folks, for your kind help - it’s greatly appreciated.

All the Best

[COLOR=SeaGreen]Limey :thumbsup:[/COLOR]

7

You can also do a 3 needle bindoff or kitchener stitch; makes the seams grafted together and there’s not really a seam…

sue

8

Many thanks Suzeeq - I’ll certainly bear that in mind for the next project.

Limey

9

Limey…thanks for letting us know…afterwards I thought of getting a pin or darning needle and loosening up that end stitch or three (as you found it). Glad it worked out. I think if you had snipped it would have been a disaster unless you had known how that last ‘bit’ was knitting in/cast off.