You might be getting a sense of déja vu abut the title of this video tutorial, but I can assure you that it is different. Within A Year of Techniques, we covered how to work a crochet provisional cast on. It’s now my first choice, but has a serious drawback in that it requires a crochet hook. I usually have a dinky little one, which came as part of a tool tin. However, as is always the case, when I needed it recently, I’d left the tin at the office. I was forced to return to return to the first provisional cast on I’d learnt and it is this that we present here. While it is not strictly a tutorial on helical knitting, it goes well with the Bramante Cowl from Chapter 1 of Something new to Learn About Helical Knitting.
This is the simplest of all of the methods since you only require some waste yarn in addition to the kit you need for your project. We would always suggest a smooth yarn that won’t felt with or snag on your working yarn.
There are a plethora of reasons for needing to be able to return to the first round or row of stitches and “reactivate” them to make them live again. I came across a new one the other day though: avoiding yarn chicken. The Bramante Cowl has an i-cord edging at the top and bottom. If you want to use as much yarn as possible, you need to know how much of it to save for the edgings. To do this, you use a provisional cast on and work some of the body of the cowl. When you have reached most of the depth you require, weigh your work. Next, remove the waste yarn, keeping the cut pieces, work the i-cord cast off, and reweigh your work with the cut up waste yarn. The difference between the two weighings is the quantity of yarn you need to hold back for the top edging.
“But how do I do an i-cord cast off?” I hear you cry. Well, that’s coming in the next tutorial.
If you’re making Bramante, or any other helical project, do join the conversation in our SN2LA Helical Knitting KAL. And it’s not too late to join in! Grab a copy of Something New to Learn About Helical Knitting from our website, where you will also find kits for some of the patterns, or over on Ravelry. The ebook costs £13.99 and includes 7 patterns, 4 chapters of tutorials on helical knitting techniques, as well as a 10% discount code for use in our online shop until 27th November 2018. Happy (helical) knitting!