Have you ever had two sets of stitches, for example at the shoulder of a sweater, that you wanted to bind off and attach together at the same time? Personally, I hate sewing seams, so I use the three needle bind-off whenever I can to attach two groups of stitches without having to pick up a tapestry needle. I've even been known to use the three needle bind-off to attach the last stitches at the toe of a sock. Almost all you need for the three needle bind-off is an equal number of stitches on each of two needles, and the desire to attach them to each other. The last necessity is a third needle of the same size as the pair that you're using for your knitting. It doesn't matter if it's straight or circular, or even a double point, as long as you're not binding off more stitches than will fit on the length of the needle.
 | First, turn your work inside out. Hold both needles, points away from you just like when you normally knit, in your left hand. |
 | With the third needle in your right hand, pick up the first stitch off of each of the needles in your left hand as if to knit. Knit the two together as one stitch. |
At the end of your knit, drop both stitches off the left hand needles, just like you usually would at the end of your knit stitch (except you'd usually only drop one).
 | Now you have a single stitch where you had two! |
Repeat this process once, so you have two stitches on the needle
 | Pick up the first stitch from the right needle, pass it over the second stitch and drop it off the needle, just like you would when binding off normally. |
Repeat until you have only one stitch left, then cut your yarn, pass it through the last stitch and pull tight. Turn your work back right side out and admire the neat seam you just made.
 | It sure looks better than the seams I make when I have to sew things together! I wish I could use the three needle bind-of for all my seaming! |
Posted by Jimmy (Laura) of Jimmy Beans Wool
