How to Knit: The Knit Cast On

When I was learning how to knit, my mom would always cast on for me. I don’t actually remember learning how to cast on when I was a kid, so I don’t know if I ever knew how to do it myself until I was older and re-learning.

It’s understandable to want to skip that part when you’re teaching someone how to knit. Casting on isn’t that exciting, it doesn’t feel like knitting and it can be confusing (especially if you’re trying to teach the long tail cast on to someone who has never knit before).

But not teaching a cast on means you can’t start a knitting project unless you have a knitter with you. Which is fine if you’re teaching someone in your household, but not so great if you’re teaching a coworker, friend, random person who won’t have access to you whenever they need a cast on.

So whenever I teach people how to knit I always start with the knit cast on.

It’s pretty quick and easy to learn and it’s basically teaching you how to work a knit stitch, so once you’re comfortable with the cast on you’ve learned what you need to know to start knitting.

Also because it’s based on the knit stitch it’s easy for new knitters to remember how to do it as long as they remember how to form the knit stitch.

And while many knitters move on from this basic cast on to do others later on, this is a cast on you can always use. It’s slower than the long tail cast on (once you get the hang of long tail) but you don’t have to have a long tail to do the knit cast on, just a slip knot.

This also makes it a solid choice if you’re casting on stitches at the end of a row, because you can just work from the last stitch and add as many as you need. It makes a nice, sturdy cast on that looks nice, and it gives new knitters confidence because it makes learning how to knit look easy once they’ve gotten the hang of the cast on.

I recently made this video showing how to do it, in case you need a refresher or are teaching someone else how to knit.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTOfSTMVp2Q]

Do you ever use the knit cast on? Did you learn this way? I’d love to hear about it!

Next Pattern:

Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

Next Pattern:

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