Casting off for left handers (also known as binding off) is the process of putting a finishing edge on a piece to prevent it from raveling. It can occur at the end of a straight piece where all stitches are bound off, or at the beginning of a row where a specific number of stitches are bound off, or within a row when making buttonholes or shaping a neck. It is important to work bound off stitches loosely, so that the finished edge will have as much give as the knitted piece. Step 1 Loosely knit the first two stitches onto the left needle. Insert the point of the right needle into the first stitch. Step 2 Pass this first stitch over the second stitch and off the left needle. One stitch remains on the left needle. Step 3 Knit the next stitch and repeat Step 2; repeat across all stitches. Step 4 Cast off all of the 15 stitches until 1 stitch remains on the left needle and the right needle is empty. Cut the yarn and draw the end through the remaining stitch. This lesson is for casting off in knit. In most instances, however, you should cast off in the stitches that you have been working in. For example, if you have been purling cast off by working each stitch in purl. If you have been working in ribbing, cast off by keeping the sequence of knit and purl.
