I love Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off! It’s my go-to method when I need a simple bind off with flexibility, but sturdy enough to look good on long rows. This technique by Jeny Stainman is meant to be worked on K1, P1 ribbing but it also works perfectly fine on stockinette or garter stitch. Therefore, it is a good one to use on socks, hats and garments, but also on shawls which I often find tricky to bind off.
The idea behind the JSSBO technique is to work a yarn-over between each stitch. The yarn-over will be worked the normal way before a purl stitch, and a reverse yarn over is worked before a knit stitch.
Setup Step 1: Work a reverse yarn-over around the right needle.
The yarn comes from behind the needle, wraps around, and go back behind the needle to be ready to work a knit stitch.
Setup Step 2: K1, bind-off yarn-over over knit stitch.
K1, then use the left needle to lift the yarn-over loop over the knit stitch and off the needle.
Step 1: Work a reverse yarn-over around the right needle.
If your next stitch is a purl stitch, work a regular yarn-over instead.
Step 2: K1 (or p1), bind-off yarn-over over knit stitch, bind-off last stitch from right needle over the same stitch.
K1 or p1, use the left needle to lift the yarn-over loop over the stitch and off the needle, then use the left needle to lift the last stitch from right needle over the stitch and off the needle.
Repeat Steps 1-2 until the end of the row.
Et voilà! The result of Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off is very stretchy!
Knitting pattern ideas to try Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off
Pieces Of My Heart Shawl
Cupcake Shawl
Walnut Cardigan