Funny story.  I’m looking for a cast-off for the scarf that better suits the 1×1 rib than the regular old bind-off, when I come across the Tubular Bind-Off in The Handknitters Handbook (which I’m pretty sure is overdue at the library).  I’m reading along in the description – strong, stretchy, flexible and A PERFECT COMPANION FOR THE TUBULAR CAST-ON.  Great. My scarf by this point is over a metre long, I want to cast it off, and the perfect cast-matches a rather perfect cast-on that I didn’t even see. Sigh.

So, I did the tubular cast-off on the scarf, which looks great, and is functionally everything that Montse said it would be except it doesn’t really match the combined two-strand cast-on. Guess I’ll have to learn the tubular cast on!

The story continues to become more funny as I went in to edit the video.  Couple things I’d like to reiterate before you watch the movie:

1. when I say pull that they want you to keep the stitches loose… I found with my scarf that ‘loose’ looked very bad and the edge was all stretched out looking.  I yanked it and then did it again tighter and I really like it.
2. Regarding the ‘Silly Me’ disclaimer: The tubular bind-off is in the 1×1 rib pattern in the way that you manipulate the stitches (so that it matches the garment pattern)  In the video, I accidentally bound off the stitches on the wrong side (long day of filming? silly girl!) which means that instead of binding off a knit first like the bind-off pattern is trying to do, I bound off a purl stitch. Sigh. So, remember this when you are going to try it by yourself, either bind-off with a knit first, or start the bind off on stitch 1 instead of stitch 2. (Kinda defeats the purpose of a video doesn’t it?)

So here it is, the functionally excellent, tubular cast on that doesn’t exactly match the combined two strand cast on, but goes well enough that the non-knitter for whom the scarf is destined, will never be the wiser.

Could that have been more complicated?