![]() ![]() The alternating long-tail cast-on will also stretch more than a standard long-tail cast-on because both strands of yarn travel around the needle to form stitches. Your ribbing will flow smoothly from the cast-on edge, without a row of purl bumps on the wrong side. ![]() While my sample alternates one knit stitch with one purl stitch, you could alternate two knits with two purls, or whatever ribbing sequence works best with your pattern. Instead of casting on a row of knit stitches, with the alternating long-tail cast-on, you’ll cast on both knit stitches and purl stitches. Benefits of the Alternating Long-Tail Cast-on I’ll show you how to work this cast-on in both one color and two colors. However, if you want a cast-on edge that is the same on both sides and looks great with ribbing? The alternating long-tail cast-on is the solution you need.Ībove: The alternating long-tail cast-on, with k1, p1 ribbing in one color, and with brioche rib in two colors. This cast-on produces a row of knit stitches, so it has a definite right side and wrong side. And it’s a good choice in many situations. If you still have enough tail yarn left, simply hold the second needle next to the first and cast on some more stitches, then pull the second needle out of the newly added stitches: no need to unravel all the way to the beginning.The standard long-tail cast-on is the default for most knitters. For further information about how to count rows in knitting, click here.ģ) If you've pulled your second needle out, and then discover that you have too few stitches cast on, no worries. Your first pattern repeat might have one too many rows if you don't count long-tail casting on as the first row. Long tail casting on creates a first row as you cast on. I often count the stitches as I cast on, only to find (five rows later) that I've got one stitch too many because I forgot to count the first stitch, which was made differently.Ģ) If you're making a pattern which requires you to count rows religiously, try to figure out whether pattern author cast on long-tail or some other way. Here are some notes to the wise, so you don't make the same stupid mistakes I do, over and over again.ġ) Count your stitches. A tight and constrained long-tail cast on is directly traceable to an over-tightening of the bottom loop in this last step. Rather, it is best to be mild in this adjustment. It is NOT necessary to yank that loop as tight as possible as you swing your thumb up. One last, but VERY IMPORTANT thing: When you complete the cycle of stitch creation and swing your thumb into loop "b" to make all look as it does in step 3, you are tightening up the bottom loop of the previous stitch. From here out, repeat steps 3 through 7 over and over again until you have the correct number of stitches on your needles. If you follow the gray arrow and pass your thumb around the yarn below the newly cast-on stitch, you'll see that your hand is in the same position as step 3, above. But making the foundation row and the first row at the same time is far easier than making the foundation row first, then trying to knit the first row into loops which skitter maddeningly around your needle. Long tail casting on is the same thing as making a foundation row of backwards loops and then knitting your first row into those loops. But because most knitting instructions call for a slip knot, you might as well know how to make one. I think they're second-rate, and at the very end of this post I show a better way. In most knitting directions, the first stitch is shown as a slip knot. But it's such a great method, I urge you to try again. Because more fabric lies on your needles, it's easier to keep the whole works sunny-side-up when you join for a circular project.Ī note to the unconvinced: if you've tried long tail casting on and gotten a tight, unyielding edge, you're not alone. In long tail cast on, you've actually created a looped foundation row AND a first row of knitting at the same time. LONG-TAIL CAST-ON This method creates an attractive and flexible lower edge. These loops and the foundation row stabilize one another.Īnother advantage: for circular projects, other kinds of foundations are a bit skimpy they're hard to hold right-side up so as to avoid making the dreaded moebius strip. Casting On CROCHET CAST-ON For a Large Stitch Count If you're working a. In other words, long tail casting-on produces a uniform row of loops already pre-knit into the underlying foundation row. With long tail cast on, you don't have these problems because you make the foundation row AND knit the first row at the same time-that's why it's my favorite. It isn't until the third or fourth row that you get a rhythm going, and the foundation row often looks lumpy and distorted. To start your knitting, you must chase these skittering loops around the needle. In many kinds of casting on, you first make a floppy sort of foundation row, often a row of simple loops which happily share yarn with their neighbors: growing or shrinking with the merest tug.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |