Tackle 3 Advanced Knitting Cast Ons

Wrapping up our month of cast ons are three whoppers, which just so happen to be personal favorites. :) As we’ve explored in the basic and long tail cast ons we’ve looked at this month, you’re going to want to use different cast ons for different things. In particular, the look (aesthetics) and stretch (elasticity) are the two biggest factors to consider as you select a cast on for your knitting. These advanced cast ons involve a little bit more of a song and dance to accomplish, but they allow you to do things like achieve a gorgeous & reversible edge, access your cast on stitches to use later, and make a cast on edge that stretches like no other. As with all things in knitting, these techniques might be a little fiddly to try for the first time, but a little practice is all it takes to add them to your knitting skillset! 

How to Work Jeny’s Stretchy Cast On

Jeny Staiman is a name you should learn if you don’t know it already. Having written some great pieces for Knitty, she is an important figure in contemporary knitting. She’s THE Jeny behind Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off and this, Jeny’s Stretchy Cast On. I could wax poetic about her technique articles, but for the purposes of this post, let’s focus on her Stretchy Cast On. As she says in her blog post about this cast on, this cast on is really just a series of slip knots, and there are different ways to accomplish it. This video shows my preferred way to teach it, and covers some pitfalls to avoid when working Jeny’s Stretchy Cast On. Of all the cast ons we’ve tackled this month, this is by far the stretchiest!

How to Work a Provisional Cast On

I have written about the Provisional Cast On before on this blog, but hadn’t yet gotten around to doing a video showing my preferred method for it until today. What’a Provisional Cast On? In knitting, a Provisional Cast On lets you access stitches that would otherwise be trapped in the knots of a regular cast on edge. Many patterns call for a Provisional Cast On because it allows you to do things like knit a cowl flat (like a scarf) and join the loops from the cast on and bind off ends with the kitchener stitch to form a visually seamless finished piece.  You can also use this cast on to work your knitting from the center out in more than one direction, which opens up tons of design possibilities!

How to Work a Chinese Waitress Cast On

The Chinese Waitress Cast On does, in fact, have a Chinese origin. The author of Cast On, Bind Off: 211 Ways to Begin and End Your Knitting, Cap Sease, learned this cast on from a restaurant waitress in Beijing. In addition to its unique origin story, this cast on has a lovely three-dimensional, braided look. This cast on looks nice on both the right and wrong sides of your knitting, and it has some stretch too. The big downside to this cast on is that its pretty look comes with a price – it’s a bit of a pain to do. Good thing we’ve got a video to walk you through it! 

PS: If you know of any other names for any of these techniques or have any useful sources or tips, let us know in the comments! 

The yarn used in these videos is 24/7 Cotton in Ecru and was provided by Lion Brand Yarn.