• 0 items$0.00
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hands Occupied

Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

  • BLOG
    • Knitting
    • Crochet
    • Latch Hook
    • Macramé
    • Punch Needle
  • ABOUT
  • Shop
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • YouTube

Knitters, the provisional cast on is pretty great.

January 13, 2014 3 Comments

How to do a provisional or invisible kitting cast on

Cowls are such a popular & stylish thing to knit these days that I finally had to jump on the bandwagon with some Christmas knitting last month. The first thing I learned to do was something called a provisional cast on. Basically it’s a way to start a knitting project invisibly. It lets you leave stitches “active,” so at the end of your cowl, you can sew the starting end’s loops to the finishing end’s loops to form a scarf that doesn’t have a distracting seam. You can also do this by knitting in the round. Sometimes, though, knitting in the round doesn’t make sense for a particular project, and sometimes, you might not be a knitter at the point of knitting in the round yet. I think using the provisional/invisible cast on is easier than learning to knit in the round, for what it’s worth. :)

To do the provisional cast on, you simply have to begin by making a length of chain stitch that’s a few stitches longer than you’d like to cast on. You’ll be tossing this chain later, so you can just use some scrap yarn that’s similar to the yarn for your project. Since I’m making a cowl with bulky yarn and don’t own a big, fat crochet hook, I opted to make my chain with finger knitting, which you can learn to do here.

One side of your chain will have ridges on it (the item pictured first below), and the other will have V’s.

How to do a provisional or invisible kitting cast on

Grab your finished chain, and stab your knitting needle through one of the ridges on the non-V side of it.

How to do a provisional or invisible kitting cast on

Wrap your yarn over your needle as if you were knitting normally, and pull the yarn back through the ridge. Keep doing this until you have enough stitches cast on.

How to do a provisional or invisible kitting cast on

How to do a provisional cast on (video tutorial)

For folks who prefer video, here’s all that again, but in another format:

Grafting your ends

That’s it! When you get to the far end of your work, you’ll pull out the chain stitching from the edge of your work and sew those loops to the loops on the other end of your work using a kitchener stitch (a.k.a. grafting). Here’s a tutorial for how to work the kitchener stitch. :)

How to do a provisional or invisible kitting cast on

If my instructions aren’t quite clicking for you, I also like these provisional cast on tutorials, some of which use a different technique for accomplishing the cast on: The Purl Bee / knitty / knittinghelp.com (video tutorial)

Filed Under: How-to Tagged With: cast on, cowl, crochet, diy, infinity scarf, invisible cast on, knit, Knitting, provisional cast on

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is a craft book author & content creator in love with primary colors & vintage vibes. She specializes in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macramé, and her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now!

Previous Post: « Weekly Reader
Next Post: DIY Library Pockets »

Reader Interactions

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?
Visit similar articles...

  • Faux Woven Cowl – The Warmest in the World!Faux Woven Cowl – The Warmest in the World!
  • Picks of the WeekPicks of the Week
  • Picks of the WeekPicks of the Week
  • How to Make Fabric YarnHow to Make Fabric Yarn

DON’T MISS ANOTHER UPDATE

Comments

  1. Judy Harris

    October 15, 2014 at 8:15 am

    I learned something new today…many thanks -I do a lot of knitting but I too thought Brioche Knitting involved underwater treading!!!! it gets cold here so, no underwater treading…consequently no Brioche Knitting…..Thanks you so much,again!!! Judy

    Reply
  2. nivia

    October 22, 2014 at 5:43 pm

    I am gonna do this, it’s great I didn’t realize I didn’t have to knit in the round. I can only find straight needles where I live and I haven’t really bought online much. Thanks

    Reply
  3. Elaine Eckart

    February 14, 2015 at 3:44 pm

    I have been knitting for lots of years, but never thought of this bright idea. Love it. Makes the finished project outstanding.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), a craft book author & pattern designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. Really anything with yarn! ❤️  My work combines vintage and modern design elements, featuring bold colors and graphic motifs.

UPDATES BY EMAIL

Monthly highlights sent to your inbox.

Find Me Elsewhere, If You’re There

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Latch Hook by Heidi GustadDiscover Unique Items

Footer

INSTAGRAM

handsoccupied

Yarn craft designer & author. Into intarsia knits, latch hook, color & vintage-modern style.
❤️ Email for pattern support
👇🏻 Book, Patterns, Tutorials

Heidi Gustad 🧶✂️
If you look closely, you’ll see I’m casually k If you look closely, you’ll see I’m casually knitting from one sweater into another here, no big deal. (What can I say, I lost a game of yarn chicken. 😂) I almost didn’t post this because I was worried someone might have some nonsense to say about my ability to knit. Then I remembered I can’t care about that. Silly me, I almost forgot myself! 
.
Speaking of which, dang it’s good to have my mental health back consistently after the past couple of years. The anxious parts of my personality are just chilling, rather than constantly screaming that my work isn’t good enough to share. The confident parts of me that matter have me creating (and starting to share my creations & process with strangers and friends) again! 
.
Anybody else feel like they are beginning to return to themselves, so to speak, this spring?
I’m feeling better, & all my [big, bad bug] proj I’m feeling better, & all my [big, bad bug] project needs is a couple of short sleeves! I’ll be finishing this sweater *just* before it gets too warm to wear, but isn’t that always how it goes? 🫠🧶 
.
#knittersofinstagram #soldotnacrop #handsoccupied #knitincolor #springknitting
Just divided the sleeves on this quick sweater, wh Just divided the sleeves on this quick sweater, which has unsurprisingly turned into a love letter to primary colors. ❤️💛💙 The heart stripe is a wee tweak I incorporated, and I don’t regret it! 
.
 #handsoccupied #soldotnacrop #strandedcolorwork #knitting #yokesweater
I am unfortunately home bound for the near future I am unfortunately home bound for the near future thanks to the big, bad bug. So far I’ve knit half a sweater, consumed about a gallon of ginger tea, & plowed through 3 seasons of Pit Bulls and Parolees. 
.
June doesn’t understand why I’m suddenly so boring, but she seems to like watching animal planet. 🤷🏼‍♀️
A bit of Saturday swatching. 🧶 I am working in A bit of Saturday swatching. 🧶 I am working in greyscale today to practice designing “without color”. Kinda cool, kinda weird. We’ll see if it yields anything interesting! 😆
.
#intarsia #intarsiaknitting #stopswatchandblockit #handsoccupied #knittersofinstagram
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 / Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework / Branding by Ink + Mortar
All Site & Shop Policies / Privacy Policy / Cookie Policy