Beginner Question for knitting...casting on???

On Fri, 14 Oct 2005 20:07:13 -0400, Giggles muttered something like:

This site has excellent advice, with videos!

-Bertha

Don't use the tail, you will slip stitch that in later on.

There is a news group just for knitting, rec.crafts.textiles.yarn - not that you can't ask here, but there's a whole bunch of knitters there lol

You might also try the following site:

I own a book with 41 methods of casting on, I kid you not!

Hitting the library and checking out the knitting books will show you various methods to try. Trick is just to find the one that you feel most comfortable with.

Caryn

Cool. Have you tried them all? I'm afraid I've never been particularly experimental with castons. Dora

" snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

What is the name of the book? I love playing with different cast ons.

fay

When casting on in this method , you are sort of Knitting your stiches.

use the Long [ball end] to cast on since you Knit it on , This is a good system because it enbales you cast on `as many stiches ` as you want, without all kinds of calculations of yarn lengthes , which sometimes fail, and than you have to rip it out and start again.

Since you are a beginner , you might as well learn This Easy Efficient system , but there are other ways to do it. Did you remember to Turn the right hand needle so that it is Parallel to the left hand needle ? mirjam

Use the ball end - ALWAYS - or you`ll just run out of yarn!

Pat P

It's Reader's Digest Knitter's Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Techniques of Handknitting. I have tried several of them, but some of them look like more trouble then they are worth! lol

I got it from my knitting grandmother about 12 yrs ago, but it seems to still be in print. At any rate I found it on Amazon.

Caryn

I'm finding this conversation - and answers to the initial question - interesting. The way I cast on - taught to me by an experienced knitter (my grandmother) - I use the tail end because often the ball string will twist up and create problems.

Since I've been knitting this way for years (I know two methods of casting on), I rarely run short of the tail . . . always allowing plenty of yarn. It's not that hard to calculate. And the way I cast on (knitting) means that you still need plenty of "tail" no matter which end you use.

Dianne

Mirjam Bruck-Cohen wrote:

The OP was just beginning. Two or three of us assumed it was far easier to tell her to do it the other way. You had somebody showing you, she has to read it here and translate it to her hands, much more difficult.

I know 2 ways to cast on (i know there are more) but the way I like best is called the long-tail caston. You make a loop around your left thumb with the tail yarn, then knit the loop onto the needle, using the ball yarn. You keep this up and have a nice edge. The only trouble is if you didn't make your tail long enough.

The other way is to loop the yarn over your thumb and then slip it to the needle. The edge is much narrower this way.

Alis>I'm finding this conversation - and answers to the initial question -

Red Heart had an inexpensive Learn To Knit leaflet that had very good instructions and illustrations for casting on. I bought it for my friend's DIL, who lives far away from us and she was able to learn a lot from that. She had never had a pair of knitting needles in her hands before, and she was able to produce a very nice scarf, all by herself, just from that little booklet.

If you can find a copy, it might help you to learn another way.

Lucille

That's the way I cast on, only I loop around my index finger, not my thumb. AND, I use the tail to knit on, and loop with the ball yarn. That way you don't get all twisted up.

Occasionally I don't allow enough "tail", but usually I have more than enough and just break off what I don't need.

I also do the loop method for casting on. Learned that out of a book. My knitting is sitting in a corner, languishing. Maybe this winter I'll get in the mood again. Lucille asked for a nice Aran pattern. I knit one for my grandson last Christmas but can't find it!! I used baby wool and size 6 needles. Came out lovely. Think it was a Patons pattern, but darned if I can locate it.

Dianne

The more I knit the less convenient I found this method. It was the first I learned, and served me well as a beginner, but over time I found it to be a royal pita to run out of tail because I didn't estimate how much I needed correctly.

I've also found that the lower edges of ribbing lacked elasticity when I used that method.

It is why there are so many options, different cast-ons work better in different situations.

Caryn

A very rough estimate of how long a tail to leave for any yarn up to worsted weight is to measure 1" for each stitch. That works 99% of the time. For bulky, you would leave 1-1/2" and that will work most of the time.

Lucille

I use the method described by Mirjam and find it much easier than the tail method. As Mirjam pointed out with the knit on method you do not have to worry about how much tail ( yarn) you leave. When I was first taught to knit I was taught the tail method, but found the knit on method in a beginner knitting book many years ago. It is by far easier . I find I get better tension when casting on and don't waste yarn by having to guesstimate how much of a tail to leave . There are several other methods, one with makes a nice flexible cast on row especially good when knitting socks. You might look on the web or your library . Ruby

I think you would find the knit cast on much easier as basically you are just knitting between stitches and looping the new stitch onto the needle. It makes a much smoother cast on I think. I can look up the method and email you some diagrams if you would like. Ruby