Answer from Darlene:
When I bind off in rib, I usually do the last row at a looser tension,
transfer the front bed stitches to the back bed, then chain cast off by
pulling the far left stitch through the next stitch, etc. all the way across.
Another way I have used on my ISM is to use a crochet hook and do a slip
stitch in each stitch as I remove it from the machine. This leaves an edge
that looks similar to a garter stitch after the rib from the knit side.
Answer from Leila:
My favorite way to bind off, in ribbing or any way is (gee, don't know
if I can describe it!) is what E. Zimmerman called casting-on /casting-off.
Using a darning needle and a pretty long length of yarn (about triple the
length of fabric to bind off--yes it is pretty clumsy at first) starting
at the left side, go down into the second stitch, up into the first stitch,
down into the third stitch, up into the second stitch, and so on, keeping
the yarn always above the work. It is just like grafting/Kitchener, but
with only one piece of fabric. Keep pulling fairly tight, just loose enough
to retain the stretchyness of the rib. If you do it right, it looks just
like casting on, which I think is the point of knitting from the top. You
can also do this on the machine and not remove it first.
Tip from Scott Renno:
BTW, here's a tip: vellum paper is GREAT drawing/tracing paper for the
1602. You can get it at any office supply store, and if you use a really
good marker, or better yet, an India Ink Pen is the absolute best, you
can really do some nice stuff with it. It's a lot cheaper than the transparency
sheets, and you can cut it to size to fit in the sheet feeders. We would
even tape them together to make a design!!