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The Invisible Ribbed Bind Off For 1×1 Rib

Blog » Bind-Offs » The Invisible Ribbed Bind Off For 1×1 Rib

The Invisible Ribbed Bind Off For 1×1 Rib

Liat Gat - Founder

September 1, 2010

The Invisible Ribbed Bind-Off is a must-learn, intermediate bind-off technique. It is a sewn bind-off that will also help you learn Kitchener stitch (the seaming bind-off). The included video and illustration help you understand clearly how to do it.

I’m almost done putting my toe-up socks video e-book together, and I wanted to give you a sneak peek of my favorite technique:

The stretchy, hemmed-edge invisible ribbed bind-off.

Invisible Ribbed Bind-Off shown on a toe-up sock
You need a stretchy bind-off so you can get your foot into your toe-up sock. Watch the complete video tutorial for binding off two toe-up socks…. and go forth and bind off!

Here’s how to do it (written instructions below the video):

KNITFreedom - Invisible Ribbed Bind-Off - A Stretchy Invisible Bind-Off For 1x1 Ribbing
KNITFreedom - Invisible Ribbed Bind-Off - A Stretchy Invisible Bind-Off For 1x1 Ribbing

To do the invisible ribbed bind-off, cut a long tail of at least 6 times the circumference of the project you want to bind off. Thread the tail on a tapestry needle.

Set-Up:
– go purlwise into stitch 1 (the stitch closest to the needle-tip)
– go knitwise FROM THE BACK into stitch 2.

Identify stitches 1, 2, 3, and 4. These labels do not change until you finish the repeat.

Repeat:
1) go knitwise into stitch 1, remove stitch from needle
2) go purlwise into stitch 3
3) go purlwise into stitch 2, remove stitch from needle
4) go knitwise FROM THE BACK into stitch 4

An easy mantra to repeat:
1) knit off purl,
2) purl off knit

Here’s an illustration of the steps of the invisible ribbed bind off that has proved to be really helpful for some of my students.

Click to download the Invisible Ribbed Bind-Off PDF

If this invisible ribbed bind off tutorial was helpful, please post in the comments!

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48 thoughts on “The Invisible Ribbed Bind Off For 1×1 Rib”

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  1. Liat, Love, your videos, you explain you instructions so well , you’re so easy to follow.
    This Invisible Ribbed Bind Off is a perfect bind off.. Thank you!! You taught me how to make my first pair of toe up socks. I look forward to learning from more of your videos.

  2. I am finishing a Ranunculus. I did a twisty bind off but the hem edge was way too tight. I pulled out the stitches (no easy feat with mohair) and did this bind off! Score! Worked beautifully.

  3. I was unable to get my mind around this so I did not accomplish this bind off, but used another stretchy bind off instead on my socks. Your instructions and the drawings make it much more clear to me and I will use it next time. Yes, there will be a next time. Thank you very much for the sock tutorial.

    1. Elias - KnitFreedom Customer Happiness

      Hi Naomi,

      I’m going to be passing your comment along to Liat, but I want to let you know that she is currently on maternity leave (she is expecting her baby very soon) and will be taking up to 1-2 weeks to answer.

      Thanks so much for your patience and understanding!

      Best,
      Elias

  4. Thanks SO much for this! I’m knitting a sweater that has this bind off on the neck & I didn’t understand at all, until I found YOUR way on YouTube, which also linked to your blog. I didn’t think of searching for you in the beginning & I should have, as you are one of the easiest/clearest to understand.

    And “welcome back” & congrats on your sweetheart & new little one! We missed you for a long time, maybe that’s why I didn’t think of searching for you first! XXOO

  5. LOVE this bind off, printed it out, cut it to size and laminated it! It is always nearby when I need it. Thank you so very much!
    Maureen
    PS: I love your patterns!!!

    1. Hi Maureen, thank you so much for this sweet comment! I love that you took the time to prepare the illustration and laminate it for your knitting bag. Thank you so much for sharing that with me. Your encouraging words really mean a lot to me!!

      Liat

  6. Hi, I know this video is older (a classic!), but I was wondering how do you finish the bind off on a flat piece of knitting? I’m finishing a split-hem edge of a sweater, so the ribbing was back and forth, not in-the-round, and I don’t know what to do with my last stitch on the Left Needle…. I tried purling through it with the tapestry needle, but it leaves an “ear” that is somewhat loose/not secured. I’ve done… something… to it, but would like to know if you’ve got any tips for ending this bind off when it’s for flat knitting.

    Thanks for your time!

    1. Candy Franks – KnitFreedom Customer Happiness

      Hi Merry,
      Great question! I will be interested in the answer. I have passed this along to liat and she will get back to you as soon as possible. (she is on maternity leave right now).

      Happy Knitting and have a great day
      Candy

  7. Just searched for these instructions after using them for my last pair of socks. These are the best instructions. I like the illustrated ones the best so that I can refer back to them whilst knitting. Thanks!

  8. Oh, goodness, are those ever clear instructions! Thank you so much. I have another set, printed out from I know not where, that had me totally lost. Even the accompanying diagrams didn’t help. Whew — sure glad I remembered seeing this page

  9. Thank you! The video helped visualize everything then the drawing helped as a reference while completing my top down hat!

  10. Candy (KnitFreedom Customer Happiness guru)

    Hi Jen,

    Just ignore the twists and do the bind-off according to the instructions. Doing this bind-off while trying to twist stitches will be very confusing and will also reduce the stretchiness. I hope this helps!

    Happy Knitting,

  11. Thanks for this tutorial! I am going to try this on a 1×1 ribbed neckline that needs a stretchy cast off. However, I knit the ribbing with a twisted purl stitches. Should I just ignore the twist and follow these instructions as written, or do I want to do something different?

    Thank you!

  12. This looks easy to follow. I tried following a similar tutorial once before and there was NO stretch. I am a mirror left-handed knitter (I knit from left to right). What modifications do I need to take? Should I also switch the knit wise and purl wise directions?

    Thanks for any help.

  13. I am so thankful for your clear instructions, the illustration and most of all, your calming voice! I am new to this type of bind-off, and severely under the deadline to finish a sweater in 2 days. This technique is working beautifully for the collar, and I couldn’t be prouder! Thanks again for taking the time to post this. You’re a life saver!

  14. You give fabulous directions. Between the explicit way you say the instructions along with the close up videos it becomes extremely easy to learn the techniques. I did do something else that helped me learn this technique. I placed a marker every 4 stitches so that I didn’t lose my place.

  15. Fantastic instructions, thanks a million!!! I printed the written instructions and they go wherever I go with my knitting :-) Thanks for all the great patterns and videos

  16. Thank you for the videos! Is it possible to do this for “mistake rib” (k2 p1)? I watched both this and the 2×2 video and I’m not quite sure how to adapt it.

    1. Hi Sheri,

      I was actually just binding off a mistake rib scarf last night. However, for me, “mistake rib” means 2×2 rib over an odd number of stitches (k2, p2.. end p1).

      If that is the case, then you can do the invisible ribbed bind-off for 2×2 rib OR you can do my favorite invisible bind-off, the Kitchener Double-Rib bind-off (learn it in I Love Bind-Offs).

      Other easier choices that would look almost as good are the Cable bind-off for 2×2 rib and Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off (JSSBO).

      If what you are referring to as Mistake Rib is (k2, p1), you’ll need to do a bind-off that will work over any combination of knit and purl stitches. The Cable bind-off and JSSBO will both work for that as well.

      Ps – Tutorials for all these bind-offs plus many more choices are in I Love Bind-Offs.

  17. I have used this bind off now on 2 pair of socks. I always refer to your video and the printed instructions. Thank you so much for all your videos and tips. You have made knitting fun and I have learned so much. Still waiting to start a sweater and checking your emails about what we should be aware of before tackling such a large endeavor.

  18. Thank you so much, Liat, for this very easy to understand tutorial! I’m working on my first sweater project, a hoodie for my granddaughter and you save the day for me! You are a natural teacher, and I love the soothing sound of your voice as you’re directing us through it all. It really helped me to not be stressed out about what at first seemed too advanced for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

  19. Liat,
    Thanks so much for taking the time to make these wonderful videos. I found the drawing very helpful for keeping me on track for first and second stitches. The little heart and bead columns for the knits and purls are wonderful representations.

  20. great video about invisible bind off, i have a problem, my bind off edge
    first stitch is a purl not a knit as shown in your video, how do i
    bind off ? thanks
    Giulia

    1. Thanks, Giulia!

      If you have to start with a purl stitch, set up the stitches like this:
      Go into the first purl stitch knitwise, then go into the next (knit) stitch purlwise from the front.

      Then, bind off the first stitch like this:
      Purl off, then go knitwise into the next purl stitch from the back.

      After that you can start the sequence like normal, starting with a knit stitch on the front, and following the sequence in the video:
      knit off purl, purl off knit.

      I hope this helps!

  21. Thank you so much! I just made my first pair of socks & I think I may be a sockaholic now, lol! You’re tutorial Toe-Up Socks helped me so much. I couldn’t have done it without you. I’ve tried other classes, books, etc without accomplishing the task. But this tutorial somehow succeeded in helping me when all others have failed. Once again, thanks so much!! :)

    1. Hi Latona –

      Thank you so much for your wonderful message! I am SO glad that the tutorial was helpful for you. :)

      And the world can always use another sockaholic!

  22. The combination of the video and the handout made this incredibly easy to understand! This was exactly what I needed to finish off some wrist warmers that had ribbing at the top. Thank you so much!!

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