The knitting school part 1 – casting on, casting off and stitch markers

The first round and the last one. Get those two right and the garment sits the way it should — and a tight cast-on edge is the one mistake you can't fix later.

Flexible cast on

The cast on I use in nearly all my patterns. The edge stretches just as much as the ribbing, and springs back again afterwards. Work out enough yarn first: wrap the yarn once around the needle for each stitch, then add ten centimetres.

Standard cast off

This is how you close the stitches into a neat edge. Cast off too tightly and the neck ends up narrow — keep the same tension as in the rest of the knitting.

Stitch markers

The cheapest insurance there is. Markers keep track of raglan lines, side seams and pattern repeats, so you don't have to count all over again every round.

If you want to read more about why the cast on matters so much, it is explained on the page about the flexible cast on.

All the parts · Part 2 →

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