Casting on knitting

To really get anywhere in knitting, you need to be able to get started. You may well have learnt the knit and purl stitches using some knitting that a kind person had already cast-on for you, otherwise I’m afraid this is where you have to start. 
There are a huge number of different methods for casting on - bewildering for the beginner but very useful for a more experienced knitter as they all have slightly different qualities. There are much better tutorials out there on the internet, but I thought I’d round up the methods I use most often.

Cable cast on;

This where you need to start if you’re just getting started. Perfect for simple things like garter stitch scarves, wash cloths, cushion covers...anything where you need a nice solid edge that doesn’t require any/much stretch. You need your yarn and 2 needles (depending on whether after a bit of practice you find your cast-on much too loose or tight, these might be a size or two bigger or smaller than you use for your actual knitting).

1. form a slip knot, place it onto your left needle.
2. place your right needle into the loop as if to knit (ie up through the bottom from front to back)
3. pass the yarn around your right needle
4. pull your right needle back towards you so you bring the yarn through the loop
5. pull on the right needle a bit to make the loop on your right need bigger
6. place this loop onto your left needle by passing your left needle under the front of the loop and lifting it off the right needle
7. using your (empty) right needle, pass it from front to back into the gap between the two loops on your left needle
8. pass yarn around your right needle
9. bring needle through gap to draw loop on right needle 
10. pass this loop onto left needle as before
11. repeat until you have cast on the required number of stitches

    

    1. form a slip knot, place it onto your left needle

2. place your right needle into the loop as if to knit

3. pass the yarn around your right needle

4. pull your right needle back towards you so you bring the yarn through the loop

5. pull on the right needle a bit to make the loop on your right need bigger

6. place this loop onto your left needle by passing your left needle under the front of the loop...

6.  ...and lifting it off the right needle

7. using your (empty) right needle, pass it from front to back into the gap between the two loops on your left needle

8. pass yarn around your right needle

9. bring needle through gap to draw loop on right needle 

10. pass this loop onto left needle as before

10. pass this loop onto left needle as before

11. Repeat until you have cast on the required number of stitches

Knitted edge

Long tail cast on;

This is the stretchy cast-on that I use for anything clothing related. Socks, hats, gloves...anything where an edge with a bit of stretch might be needed. For this you only need your yarn and one needle. You do however have to guestimate the amount of yarn your cast on will use. If casting on lots, I tend to cast on 10 stitches, unravel and see how much yarn was used, and multiple this length by the appropriate number for the number of stitches required. 

1. form slip knot, leaving sufficiently long tail yarn for cast on, place on needle and hold in right hand
2. with tail nearest you and working yarn furthest away put your thumb and index finger between the two yarns, such that the yarns pass over your thumb and finger with the ends emerging from your fist
3. pass the needle under the nearest yarn on your thumb from front to back
4. keeping this loop on the needle then pass it from right to left under the nearest yarn on your index finger
5. pull the index finger yarn through the thumb loop
6. remove the loop from your thumb, tighten by pulling on the tail and you should have 2 stitches on the needle
7. reposition yarn on thumb by passing thumb between the yarns and under the tail yarn, hooking yarn over thumb
8. repeat from 3)

1. form slip knot, leaving sufficiently long tail yarn for cast on, place on needle and hold in right hand

2. with tail nearest you and working yarn furthest away put your thumb and index finger between the two yarns...

2. ...such that the yarns pass over your thumb and finger ...

2. ...with the ends emerging from your fist

3. pass the needle under the nearest yarn on your thumb from front to back

4. keeping this loop on the needle then pass it from right to left under the nearest yarn on your index finger

5. pull the index finger yarn through the thumb loop

6. remove the loop from your thumb, tighten by pulling on the tail and you should have 2 stitches on the needle

7. reposition yarn on thumb by passing thumb between the yarns and under the tail yarn, hooking yarn over thumb

repeat from 3)

This actually forms a ready knitted row, as you can see by the little purl bumps on the wrong side. If I’m knitting stocking stitch I do tend to count that as the first row, other times I don’t bother. It looks similar to the cable cast on, the big difference being the in-built stretch.

Judy’s Magic toe;

(Find the original here). This is indeed a magic invisible cast on for working in the round where you start with a closed edge, ie toe up socks, bottom up bags, or invisible edge hexipuffs. I work on double pointed needles (dpns) in the round, and usually divide over the extra needles after the first round of knitting. You need 2 double pointed needles and yarn. Like the long tail cast on, you need to leave a sufficiently long tail for the cast on. 

1. form slip knot, leaving sufficiently long tail yarn for cast on, place on needle and hold in right hand
2. hold the 2 needles together in right hand, with needle with stitch on furthest away
3. *unlike long tail cast on, ensure tail is furthest away, and working yarn nearest you*
4. pass thumb and index fingers between the two yarns, such that the yarns pass over your thumb and finger with the ends emerging from your fist (tail over index finger, working yarn over thumb)
5. pass the nearest needle over then back under the yarn on the index finger, finishing with the yarn between the two needles
6. then angling your needles towards you, pass the furthest needle over then back under the yarn on the thumb, finishing with the yarn between the two needles
7. you now have 3 cast on stitches, 2 on the furthest needle, and 1 on the nearest.
8. repeat from 5, so the nearest needle always uses the index finger yarn, and the furthest needle uses the thumb yarn
9. once you have cast on the required number of stitches (ie 20, 10 on each needle), hold needles in left hand and ensure working yarn lies over tail yarn
10. begin to knit furthest needle, once furthest needle is knitted turn needles so that the needle you have just knitted is nearest, and then continue to knit along other needle. These stitches are naturally twisted; knit through back loop to ensure they knit untwisted.
11. you then have an invisible cast on! The right side looks like 2 rows of knitting and the wrong side like 2 rows of purl. I then divide the stitches evenly across dpns and follow the pattern instructions.

1. form slip knot, leaving sufficiently long tail yarn for cast on, place on needle and hold in right hand
2. hold the 2 needles together in right hand, with needle with stitch on furthest away
3. *unlike long tail cast on, ensure tail is furthest away, and working yarn nearest you*

4. pass thumb and index fingers between the two yarns, such that the yarns pass over your thumb and finger with the ends emerging from your fist (tail over index finger, working yarn over thumb)

5. pass the nearest needle over then back under the yarn on the index finger, finishing with the yarn between the two needles

6. then angling your needles towards you, pass the furthest needle over then back under the yarn on the thumb, finishing with the yarn between the two needles

7. you now have 3 cast on stitches, 2 on the furthest needle, and 1 on the nearest.

8. repeat from 5, so the nearest needle always uses the index finger yarn, and the furthest needle uses the thumb yarn

9. once you have cast on the required number of stitches (ie 20, 10 on each needle)....

9.  ....hold needles in left hand and ensure working yarn lies over tail yarn

10. begin to knit furthest needle...

10. ......

10. once furthest needle is knitted...

 10. ....turn needles so that the needle you have just knitted is nearest

10. ...continue to knit along other needle. These stitches are naturally twisted..

10. ...knit through back loop to ensure they knit untwisted.

11. you then have an invisible cast on! The right side looks like 2 rows of knitting... 

10. ...and the wrong side like 2 rows of purl

Crochet cast on;

*not to be confused with the provisional crochet cast on*. I use this for my hexipuffs, where I want a ridge at the beginning to match the crochet cast off ridge at the end. It also makes quite a nice decorative cast on when just knitted up flat. For this you need one needle and a similar sized crochet hook.

1. form a slip knot and place it on crochet hook, hold the hook in your right hand and the needle in your left, with the working yarn in your left hand
2. ensure needle lies over the yarn
3. using the hook, catch the yarn from behind the needle and draw it through the loop on the crochet hook (let this original loop come off the hook)
4. move the yarn back behind the needle
5. repeat from 3
6. once cast on 1 less than the number of stitches require, transfer loop from crochet hook onto needle to count as last stitch
7. for hexipuffs (ie to divide for working in round) hold two needles together in right hand, and needle with cast on stitches in left
8. place stitches onto alternating needles (ie one onto furthest needle, one onto nearest, one onto furthest etc). You’re then ready to knit in the round.
9. if not working in round, ignore 7) and 8) and just knit from 6).

1. form a slip knot and place it on crochet hook, hold the hook in your right hand and the needle in your left, with the working yarn in your left hand

2. ensure needle lies over the yarn

3. using the hook, catch the yarn from behind the needle...

3. ...and draw it through the loop on the crochet hook (let this original loop come off the hook)

4. move the yarn back behind the needle

5. repeat from 3

6. once cast on 1 less than the number of stitches require, transfer loop from crochet hook onto needle to count as last stitch

6. ...transfer loop from crochet hook onto needle to count as last stitch

7. for hexipuffs (ie to divide for working in round) hold two needles together in right hand, and needle with cast on stitches in left

8. place stitches onto alternating needles (ie one onto furthest needle, one onto nearest, one onto furthest etc). 

8. You’re then ready to knit in the round

9. if not working in round, ignore 7) and 8) and just knit from 6).

So, I hope you made it this far! There are many many more cast on methods to explore, but those are the ones I use most often. I find that often I need to watch a video of a technique the first time, but after that photos are fine to jog my memory. Youtube and google can help you out there!

Now that you can cast on, get knitting.