If you’ve visited these parts at all this month, it’ll come as absolutely no surprise to hear that the tubular cast on is hands down my favourite. But, of course, other cast ons are available, and the tubular cast on is most suited for ribbing. Behind the scenes at A-C Knitwear, we’ve been talking about what each of our favourite cast ons are … here are Jim and Katherine’s picks.
What’s your favourite way to start a project? Photo © Jesse Wild
Jim’s pick: the long-tail cast on.
Why it’s his go-to: “It was the first method I learnt, it works fine for most situations, so if it ain’t broke …”
How to do it: Tutorials abound for this popular cast-on method, and there’s even more than one way to accomplish it, as this Purl Soho article shows. As the name suggests, you need a long tail to execute it – to avoid running out of yarn, you can follow my video tutorial for working a long tail cast on with two colours, but use two strands of the same colour yarn – no tail length guesswork required! (And if you prefer the long-tail cast on using the thumb method, we’ve got a photo tutorial for that.)
Katherine’s pick: the German twisted (sometimes called Old Norwegian) long-tail cast on.
Why she loves it: “I’m completely devoted to this cast on. It’s got the speed of a normal long tail cast on, with the added benefits of some extra stretch. It makes a nice firm edge that can be used for nearly anything!”
How to do it: If you already know how to work a long tail cast on, the German twisted version will be a breeze. It involves a few extra twists and turns, which creates a little extra fold of yarn in the cast-on edge, the key to its added flexibility. Faye Perriam-Reed’s tutorial for The Knitter will show you how it’s done.
What about you – what’s your favourite cast on? We’d love to know!