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What’s Your Favorite Way to Cast on?

January 3, 2024 by Sarah White

I’ve learned a lot of different cast on methods through the years, and taught a lot of them, too, whether in person or online.

My absolute favorite to teach new knitters is the knit cast on because once you know how to cast on you basically know how to knit, too. And because of that it’s also pretty easy for people to remember how to do it when their teacher is gone or if they stopped knitting for a while and are picking it back up again.

When it comes to my own knitting, thought, I’d say more than 90 percent of the time I use the long-tail cast on. It’s easy and fast once you get the hang of it, and the most efficient way I know of to cast on a whole lot of stitches at once.

But it’s not always the best cast on method or even one that you can use. You can’t use a long tail cast on in the middle of a row (or even the middle of a project) for example.

I’ve collected some of my favorite cast on methods and the pros and cons of using them over on Our Daily Craft. This post is a quick summary of six different cast on methods and when to use them, but within the post there are links to tutorials for how to work each of them, if any of them happen to be new to you.

I’m sure I’ll keep adding to this collection (it needs provisional cast on for sure, I just don’t have a tutorial for that yet) but if you know these six methods that will get you through a lot of different knitting situations.

So how about you? What’s your favorite cast on method? Or what do you use most often even if it’s not your favorite?

How to Fix a Dropped Cast On Stitch

A Cheat Sheet for Cast Ons

How to Make a Knit Cast On

Learn to Knit: Cable Cast On

Next Pattern:

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Comments

  1. Dot says

    January 3, 2024 at 5:33 pm

    My favorite provisional cast on is the COWYAK cast on from TECHknitting. It takes a bit more time, but you get nice even live stitches when it’s removed.

Have you read?

Bucket Hat Knitting Patterns

As I was starting to write this post I thought that it was true that I’d never done a roundup of bucket hat knitting patterns before. But then I looked, and I actually did one last year (which you can find here) but there are plenty of cute bucket hats to do another post about, right? 

The one that made me want to write about this (again) is the Red Heart Knit Fanfare Bucket Hat from Yarnspirations. This cute striped hat can be worked in team colors, and while I might prefer a non-acrylic yarn for a summer hat, it would be fine when it’s not too hot outside (or try a cotton yarn instead). 

Claire Slade’s Sunlit Bucket Hat has an angled brim to help keep the sun out of your eyes. It’s worked from the bottom up using worsted weight cotton yarn, and comes in three sizes. You can find the pattern on Ravelry. 

Get a little air flow in your bucket hat with the Shady Bucket Hat from Wool & Beyond. This one uses DK weight yarn and an eyelet pattern throughout the body to keep it cool. It comes in sizes ranging from newborn to adult large, and is worked in one piece from the top down. You can grab the pattern (in English or Swedish) on Ravelry. 

If you’re looking for a fun, floppy sun hat for kids or adults, this pattern from Muki Crafts is a little more slouchy than a traditional bucket hat but it’s super cute. It comes in baby, toddler and bigger kid sizes and adult. I uses worsted weight yarn and is worked from the bottom up. 

Another variation on the classic bucket is this one that’s more of a cloche style. Made by branda, it uses bulky yarn so it’s more of a winter bucket hat, but now’s a fine time to knit it if you live somewhere that’s warm right now (or even more so if you live somewhere that’s cold right now). 

Another one to get you ready for colder weather is Tirmety, a two-layer bucket hat from ViTalina Craft, which has a textured stitch pattern on one side and stockinette on the other. You can wear either side out or even make them different colors if you want. The pattern is sized for toddlers, kids and adults. 

And if you want to add some extra cuteness to your bucket hat, I love this (of course totally optional but also totally adorable) embroidered deatila on the New York Bucket Hat from Pauline Fanguin. It uses two strands of DK weight yarn held together for extra sturdiness, and uses changes in needle size to shape the hat. Of course you could also knit stripes or use different textures of yarn to change up the look. This pattern is made to fit your head and is available in French and English. 

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