How to finish the scarf when you're done knitting

If you're new to knitting, you may feel a little confused about how to finish your first scarf! The following simple techniques will guide you through the process. First, you'll need to bind off the stitches, then weave in the loose yarn ends to give the scarf a neat and polished look. Finally, you can add fringe to the scarf for decoration.

Finish the last knitting row. You will need to finish the last row before starting the bind-off process. After that, turn the scarf around to knit a new row. Hold the needle with the stitches in your left hand and the empty needle in your right hand.

Knit the first two stitches. Knit the first two stitches of the new row as usual, making sure to knit only two stitches.

Pass the first stitch over the second. Use the needle in your left hand to lift the first stitch from the right-hand needle and pass it over the second stitch, then slide the stitch off the right-hand needle.

Knit one more stitch. Simply knit one more stitch.

Continue passing the first stitch over the second. Use the left-hand needle to lift the first stitch from the right-hand needle and pass it over the second stitch, then slide the first stitch off the right-hand needle.

Repeat the bind-off process until the end of the row. Continue repeating the process of knitting one new stitch, lifting the previous stitch, and passing it over the new stitch until you reach the end of the row. The edge of the scarf will gradually lengthen as you continue to bind off.

• You can use a larger needle to bind off so that the stitches are not too tight. Tight binding off can cause the edge of the scarf to shrink.

Finish the last stitch. When you reach the final stitch, you will have just one loop left on the needle. Cut the yarn, leaving a tail of about 20 cm. Then, pull the yarn through the loop, weave the end into a few stitches on the body of the scarf, and trim the excess yarn.

• Make sure to leave about 20 cm or more of yarn so you can weave it into the scarf.

Thread the yarn tail onto a yarn needle. Once you've finished binding off the scarf, you'll need to weave in the yarn ends. Thread the end of the yarn onto a yarn needle, and hold it with your thumb and forefinger to prevent the yarn from slipping out while sewing.

Pass the yarn needle through the adjacent stitches. Identify a stitch near the edge to weave the yarn into, and pass the needle through it. Then, insert the needle back through the next stitch.

• Continue weaving in and out along the edge of the scarf until the yarn is too short to sew any further.

Tie off and trim the yarn. When you can no longer sew, pull the yarn off the needle, tie a knot at the last stitch, and trim the excess yarn about 1 cm from the final stitch.

Choose yarn for making the fringe. Adding decorative fringe will enhance the beauty of the scarf. You can select a fringe color matching the scarf or use a contrasting yarn color. Be sure to pick yarn with a similar texture to the one used for knitting the scarf.

• For instance, if you used medium-weight wool yarn to knit the scarf, choose a similar yarn for the fringe.

Cut a piece of cardboard the same length as the desired fringe strands. Wrapping yarn around the cardboard helps ensure that the fringe strands are of uniform length. Cut the cardboard so that its width exceeds the length of the yarn strands by about 1.5 cm.

• For example, if you want the fringe to be approximately 10 cm long, cut the cardboard to a width of 11 cm.
• Make sure the cardboard is long enough to wrap a reasonable amount of yarn. The cardboard should be at least 25 cm long.

Wrap the yarn around the cardboard. Take the end of the yarn and begin wrapping it around the cardboard as if you were wrapping it around a yarn spool. Keep wrapping until the yarn completely covers the cardboard from one end to the other. Avoid overlapping the yarn at any point.

• Remember to wrap the yarn along the width of the cardboard, which corresponds to the size of the desired fringe strands.

Cut along the bottom edge of the cardboard. Use sharp scissors to carefully cut the yarn along the bottom edge of the cardboard, ensuring the cut is straight. Only cut the bottom edge, not the top!

• Note that the yarn strands you’ve cut will be twice the length of the fringe you want to create, as you will fold them in half when tying them to the scarf.

Divide the yarn into small bundles of 2, 3, or 4 strands. You can split the yarn into bundles of 3 to 4 strands depending on the thickness of the fringe you desire. Keep these bundles separate so that you can easily access them when attaching them to the scarf.

Use a crochet hook to pull the center of the yarn bundle through a stitch on the scarf. Take one bundle of yarn and fold it in half, then insert the hook into a stitch at the edge of the scarf. Pull ⅓ of the yarn bundle through the stitch.

• Do not pull the yarn all the way through the stitch.
• Choose a crochet hook of a suitable size to easily pass through the edge stitches of the scarf.

Pull the yarn tail through the loop. Keep the yarn bundle on the crochet hook, then use the hook to grab the tail of the yarn from the other side and pull it through the loop on the hook.

Pull firmly on the yarn tail to tighten the loop. To secure the fringe, pull firmly on the yarn tail. This will tighten the loop around the stitches, preventing it from coming undone.

• Repeat the steps above until all the fringe strands are attached to the edge of the scarf.

Trim the fringe ends if desired. If the fringe tails are uneven, lay the scarf flat, smooth out the fringe, and use scissors to trim them so that they are all the same length. Be sure to trim just enough to make the strands even.