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.
At the end of the day, the “best” cast on is usually the one that suits the project in front of you — and the one you can do without muttering too loudly at your yarn. A stretchy cast on is lovely for hats and cuffs, a firmer one works beautifully for structured edges, and a simple beginner-friendly cast on is sometimes exactly what you need to get the stitches on the needle and actually start knitting.
If you’re still new to knitting, don’t feel as though you need to learn every cast on method at once. Pick one or two reliable favourites, practise them on scrap yarn, and add new techniques as your projects call for them. That’s how most of us build our knitting toolkit — one slightly wonky practice swatch at a time.
So now I’d love to know: what’s your favourite way to cast on? Are you a loyal long-tail knitter, do you prefer the knit cast on, or do you have a stretchy cast on you swear by?
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.