Think back to the time you learned to knit. Who struggled with the cast on?
(Everyone can raise a hand now.)
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| The cast on can be difficult for beginner knitters. |
The cast on is tough: Make a loop on one needle. And slip it onto the opposing needle without dropping anything or messing anything up. And don�t pull the loops too tight. And don�t knit too close to the point of your needle. Remember to breathe. And...stop frowning. Got it?
Although the cast on can be tricky, it does yield a lot of opportunity for customization. The knitter gets to choose what type of cast on to use. Lots of seasoned knitters have a favorite cast on or preferred style. A particular type of scarf may be better with a strong cast on, such as the longtail. A cabling piece needs a cable cast on. Check out this article for some clearly-explained details. (Somewhere, I imagine there must be an article with a title like �What your favorite cast on says about you.�)
I became curious about cast-on techniques when a knitter I recently talked to told me that she had a favorite cast on practice. I always cast on using the same technique and had not thought about the differences a cast on could make in the finished piece.
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| Different cast on methods can lead to stylistic variation. What's your favorite? |
So how about the math?
Sometimes, knitters talk about the math involved in the cast on. For example, consider one knitter who has a true love for the long tail method. She talks about these ideas in The Mathematics of Long Tail Cast On. One commonly accepted rule of casting on is to make a tail that is the three times the width of the knitting and add a few inches.
