Cast On, Bind Off (14 page)

Bend your left thumb toward the index finger and reach over the top of the strand on your index finger. The loop on your thumb now has an X in it.

Bring the needle tip through the bottom half of the X (nearest the needle), grab the index finger yarn to make your new stitch, drop the thumb loop, and tighten stitch.

Repeat steps 2–5 for the desired number of stitches.

As with the Long-Tail Cast On (
page 25
), this technique creates the first row of knitting with the cast on. This means that for stockinette fabric, your first row will be a purl row.

Most of these cast ons
create an edge that consists of knits and purls in combination: the natural start for any ribbing. A couple of exceptions to this (Slip Knot, Tillybuddy's) are included here because their great elasticity makes them well suited to garments that need a stretchy edge, such as socks, mittens, gloves, and hats. These cast ons have the advantage of looking good on both sides, allowing you to begin with either a right-side or wrong-side row. Although this group works well with ribbed edges, many of the techniques can be used with stockinette as well (see photos on
pages 52
,
56
, and
59
for examples).

Alternating Long-Tail
page 46

Alternating Cable
page 49

Double Start
page 52

Channel Island
page 56

Slip Knot
page 59

Tillybuddy's Very Stretchy
page 62

This variation of the Long-Tail Cast On
(
page 25
) can be used for pieces that start with ribbing. It has the same elastic properties as the Long-Tail and makes a neat edge. You can use it to create any pattern of ribbing by alternating the knit and purl cast-on stitches as needed.