Simple Slouch Knit Along // Binding Off and Weaving In Ends

Now that your decreases are done, you're ready to bind off your stitches and then weave in the ends. Binding off a hat is easier than almost all other garments, because you're not actually binding off anything at all, really. You're simply tying the end off by pulling the live stitches tightly together.

You'll want to cut your yarn, leaving at least a 12" tail. This way you'll have plenty of yarn for transferring all your stitches off the needle, and for weaving in your ends. Then you simply thread your yarn end through your needle and begin taking the stitches off, one at a time, in the same direction you've been knitting. Rather than knit the stitch from left needle to right, however, you're simply moving the stitch off the left needle and onto your darning needle, as seen above.

Once all your stitches are off the circular needle and on your piece of yarn, your hat will look like this.

To close the top of your hat, simply pull the yarn on the darning needle, tightening up the hole almost completely. Before it's too tight, however, slip your darning needle and yarn through the hole, and turn the hat inside out.

With your hat turned inside out, run your darning needle through the stitches one more time, to tighten up the hole just a bit more and give it a bit more stability.

Finally, you'll tie a knot in your yarn (I KNOW!!! A KNOT!) and pull tight.

 To weave in the end at the top of the hat, simply work your darning needle up and down through one stitch after another, moving around in a circle a row or two below the knot you tied.

To weave in the end at the brim of the hat, you'll need to do a few extra steps.

First, you'll thread the yarn end through your darning needle.

Second, slip the darning needle through the bump of the first cast on stitch - it will be a bit of a bigger bump than the other stitches because it was your slip knot.

Third, re-insert the darning needle, from front of the hat to the back, through the stitch the tail originally came out of. This will close any little gap between that first and last cast on stitch (as seen in 4 above), and will put your yarn back on the inside of the hat.

Then simply weave in this end as you did for the top end in the hat.

Once both ends are woven in - I like to weave the ends for at least a few inches, to keep them secure - simply cut both ends and turn your right-side out, so it's ready to wear!

Early next week I'll be sharing my finished hat photos! Be sure to ask any questions you may have in the comments, and don't forget to hashtag your projects #simpleslouchKAL on Instagram!