discover new methods. Maybe you, too, will find some new best friends in these techniques! Knitting is an adventure that allows us to keep learning, and my intent with this book is to encourage that ongoing exploration.
Quick Start Guide
Here are some basic techniques that will come up again and again as you try different ways of casting on and binding off. Refer back to this section when you need a refresher on these essentials.
Slip Knot
The foundation stitch for many a cast on, the slip knot is aptly named: If you pull too hard to tighten the knot (and it isnât looped around an object, such as a knitting needle), the knot
slips
apart.
Make a loop with the tail end underneath the long end where the yarns overlap.
Reach through the loop and grab the long yarn and pull a new loop through the first loop.
Holding the new loop, pull on the tail to tighten just a bit. This is the loop â the slip knot â to place on your needle.
Pulling on the long end tightens the loop on your needle (or, if the loop is not on the needle, pulls the knot out entirely).
Overhand Knot
Another commonly used knot, the overhand joins two strands together.
Hold two strands of yarn with tails lined up together.
Make a loop and pull the ends through the loop. Tighten the knot.
Cast-On Tail
Some cast ons require you to create a long tail before you begin. This tail will be used, along with the strand of yarn going to the ball, to create the edge. There are a few different ways of measuring out the length you need:
⢠Measure out a length three to four times the width of your project.
⢠Use approximately 1Ⳡfor each stitch.
⢠Wrap yarn around needle 10 times and use that length to approximate 10 stitches, then measure out length needed for total number of stitches.
⢠Alternatively, for projects with a large number of stitches to cast on, use two balls of yarn. One ball provides the tail yarn; the other is the knitting yarn. Connect them with a slip knot. (Do not count knot as a cast-on stitch. Just drop it off needle at end of first row.) After casting on, drop the tail yarn and continue knitting with the other yarn.
Slingshot Position
The slingshot position is used in many cast ons, so learning it is a crucial step in any knitterâs education.
Make a slip knot and place it on the needle. Hold the needle in your right hand.
Let the tail yarn and ball yarn hang down. Unless otherwise instructed, the tail yarn is closest to you. Insert forefinger and thumb between the two strands of yarn hanging from the needle.
Use your remaining fingers to grasp the ends of the yarn in the palm of your hand and pull the yarn with your thumb and forefinger pointing up and back: The yarn looks like a slingshot.
Knitwise, Purlwise
Sometimes knitting requires you to slip a stitch from a needle without working it. Or, in the case of some of these cast ons, such as Knitted ( page 31 ) or Cable ( page 36 ), a newly made stitch is slipped back to the left needle. I always specify whether you should slip it knitwise or purlwise: as if to knit or as if to purl.
Knitwise: Twist the right-hand needle so the two needles are side by side and insert the tip into the new stitch from below.
Purlwise: Holding both needles so that they form a continuous line, with the tips touching, pass the stitch from one needle to the other.
Basic Cast Ons
This first group of cast ons covers the ones most knitters learn first. In searching for a way to describe this group, I decided that âsimpleâ was not accurate, nor did âall purposeâ fit those included here. These are the basics in a knitterâs wardrobe. They are some of the easiest to learn and teach, but more than that, these methods are the staples we come back to again and again for their versatility.
Backward Loop
page 20
Double-Twist Loop
page 22
Long-Tail
page 25
Long-Tail, Thumb Version
page 28
Knitted
page 31
Purled
page
Quick Start Guide
Here are some basic techniques that will come up again and again as you try different ways of casting on and binding off. Refer back to this section when you need a refresher on these essentials.
Slip Knot
The foundation stitch for many a cast on, the slip knot is aptly named: If you pull too hard to tighten the knot (and it isnât looped around an object, such as a knitting needle), the knot
slips
apart.
Make a loop with the tail end underneath the long end where the yarns overlap.
Reach through the loop and grab the long yarn and pull a new loop through the first loop.
Holding the new loop, pull on the tail to tighten just a bit. This is the loop â the slip knot â to place on your needle.
Pulling on the long end tightens the loop on your needle (or, if the loop is not on the needle, pulls the knot out entirely).
Overhand Knot
Another commonly used knot, the overhand joins two strands together.
Hold two strands of yarn with tails lined up together.
Make a loop and pull the ends through the loop. Tighten the knot.
Cast-On Tail
Some cast ons require you to create a long tail before you begin. This tail will be used, along with the strand of yarn going to the ball, to create the edge. There are a few different ways of measuring out the length you need:
⢠Measure out a length three to four times the width of your project.
⢠Use approximately 1Ⳡfor each stitch.
⢠Wrap yarn around needle 10 times and use that length to approximate 10 stitches, then measure out length needed for total number of stitches.
⢠Alternatively, for projects with a large number of stitches to cast on, use two balls of yarn. One ball provides the tail yarn; the other is the knitting yarn. Connect them with a slip knot. (Do not count knot as a cast-on stitch. Just drop it off needle at end of first row.) After casting on, drop the tail yarn and continue knitting with the other yarn.
Slingshot Position
The slingshot position is used in many cast ons, so learning it is a crucial step in any knitterâs education.
Make a slip knot and place it on the needle. Hold the needle in your right hand.
Let the tail yarn and ball yarn hang down. Unless otherwise instructed, the tail yarn is closest to you. Insert forefinger and thumb between the two strands of yarn hanging from the needle.
Use your remaining fingers to grasp the ends of the yarn in the palm of your hand and pull the yarn with your thumb and forefinger pointing up and back: The yarn looks like a slingshot.
Knitwise, Purlwise
Sometimes knitting requires you to slip a stitch from a needle without working it. Or, in the case of some of these cast ons, such as Knitted ( page 31 ) or Cable ( page 36 ), a newly made stitch is slipped back to the left needle. I always specify whether you should slip it knitwise or purlwise: as if to knit or as if to purl.
Knitwise: Twist the right-hand needle so the two needles are side by side and insert the tip into the new stitch from below.
Purlwise: Holding both needles so that they form a continuous line, with the tips touching, pass the stitch from one needle to the other.
Basic Cast Ons
This first group of cast ons covers the ones most knitters learn first. In searching for a way to describe this group, I decided that âsimpleâ was not accurate, nor did âall purposeâ fit those included here. These are the basics in a knitterâs wardrobe. They are some of the easiest to learn and teach, but more than that, these methods are the staples we come back to again and again for their versatility.
Backward Loop
page 20
Double-Twist Loop
page 22
Long-Tail
page 25
Long-Tail, Thumb Version
page 28
Knitted
page 31
Purled
page
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