I-Cord Bind Off with Cable Twist - Knitting Tutorial

Today I am sharing a video tutorial that I created to show a fascinating bind off that I just tried for the first time. I was making a shawl for myself, and I had a cable running up one side of it. When it came time to bind off, I decided to try an I-cord bind off. If you've never done an I-cord bind off, you can find a tutorial here.

I really liked how it looked, especially with a cable twist thrown in, but I didn't like how long it took. I realized that by using 2 dpn's, I didn't have to transfer the I-cord stitches back onto the left needle. I could just slide it on over to the other side of the dpn, and keep going. It was so much faster, and I got into a really good rhythm and finished it much more quickly than I thought it would take. I decided that I needed to make a video to show my method.

WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL

Here are some more details to help you get the perfect I-cord bind off for your project:

I used 6 knit stitches before decreasing at the end of the I-cord. Typically 2-3 stitches are used, but I needed to match the 4 stitch cable on the other side of the shawl. Since the I-cord pulls some of the stitches around towards the back, a 6 stitch cable on the I-cord looked more like the 4 stitch cable on the side of the shawl.

Some I-cord tutorials show a Knit 2 together through the back loop (K2togtbl), but I used a Purl 2 together (P2tog) to give the cable a little more definition from the rest of the I-cord.

The bind off looked perfect after I blocked my shawl. I highly recommend blocking your knit shawls. It prevents curling, and really helps define those gorgeous cables. 

I hope this tutorial is informative and helpful! If you try out this method, feel free to tag me @craftsbysarahliz so I can see your beautiful work! I will be typing up my shawl pattern soon, so be on the lookout for the pattern.

Happy Knitting!

-Sarah Liz