Vinnland Socks Bind-Off

The Vinnland socks have been almost done for 2 whole weeks.  I finally realized that some quiet time, interrupted by neither beast nor man, had yet to magically occur.  (Even as I typed the last sentence, the phone rang, the cat tried to sit on the computer, and a neighbor knocked on the door!)  So this afternoon I barricaded myself in our spare room for an hour.  Armed with the computer, some knitting tools, and, of course, some chocolate, I sat down to finish up.

My big plan was to learn how to do the "K2P2 Grafted Bind Off" from the pattern, and take photos to share what I learned.  It didn't quite work out that way.  I began to follow the instructions, and realized that the Grafted Bind Off is very similar to the kitchener stitch.  Even though it is a bind off, not a seam, it is just like seaming.  You divide the purl stitches and knit stitches onto 2 separate needles and then use a yarn needle to to draw the working yarn through the stitches in a set series of steps.  I quickly realized that I was having a hard time maintaining even tension.

So, I decided to google "stretchy bind off for ribbing" and was amazed at all the choices that came up.  After reading about a number of them, I settled on this one described in a post by Grumperina (scroll down past the 3rd photo to see her bind off instructions).  She also included one of my favorite knitting tips:  go up one needle size to avoid binding off too tightly. 
I was a little worried at first that the cuff looks slightly flared, but I don't think it will when the sock is actually being worn. 

You can see what I mean here:













But here is the sock on a sock blocker:

(My regular camera is on a trip with my son, I couldn't seem to get good pictures with the only other camera that was available.)

My goal was to finish with a stretchy bind off that still looks tidy, and I am pretty happy with the final product.  I am off to wash and block them.  Now I just hope they fit!