How to: Cable Cast-On

There are lots of ways to cast on out there, but the cable cast-on is my favourite.

 

Why, I hear you ask?

1. It’s nice and stable. No, this isn’t one you should be using for socks, but it’s great for edges that you don’t want to go out of shape over time.

2. It’s reversible. Got a pattern that starts with a right-side row? Cable cast-on is perfect. Got a pattern that starts with a wrong-side row? This cast-on is good for that too. The cable cast-on eliminates some of the decision making when casting on a new project, and I am definitely up for that.

3. It’s easy. The cable cast-on is a short tail cast-on - you use the working yarn to cast on the stitches, which means you don’t need to guesstimate how much yarn you need, you can just get on with it!

 

How do I do it then?

1. Leaving a tail at least 10 cm (4 in) long, make a slip knot in your working yarn.

 

2. Put the slip knot on your left needle and tighten. This is the first stitch.

3. Put the tip of the right needle into the stitch on the left needle, from left to right.

4. Using the right needle, pull the working yarn through the stitch to create a loop.

5. Place the loop on the left needle and pull to tighten. This is the second stitch.

6. Put the tip of the right needle through the gap between stitch one and stitch two, from front to back.

7. Using the right needle, pull the working yarn through the gap to create a loop.

8. Place the loop on the left needle and pull to tighten. This is a new stitch.

Repeat steps 6-8 until you have the required number of stitches.

Ta dah! You are done! Now work as given in the pattern.

 

What next?

This cast-on works really well for many of my intarsia patterns. Why not pick up one up to test out your cast-on skills?

• Intarsia patterns on Ravelry**
• Intarsia patterns on PayHip

**Ravelry link, may cause issues for people with photosensitivity. Proceed with caution.

 

Making knitting charts LARGER

Ever worked from a pattern and found the chart too small when you print it out at home on A4 paper? I’m here to help! Here are a few simple options for you to consider.

 

1. Specialist print shop

Send the pattern file to a specialist print shop and ask them to print the chart on larger paper, e.g. A3. This will double the size of the chart and make it much easier to read.

Don’t live near a print shop? There are many online companies that offer this service, and send the printouts to you at home, saving you a journey. Prices can vary significantly, so do shop around. You don’t need poster-quality printing, plan printing will be perfect, unless you’re planning on making the pattern many times, then you might want something more durable.

 

2. Photocopy

If you’re finding an A4 printout too small, you can photocopy the chart onto larger paper, zooming in to make it easier to read. Libraries often have photocopiers, and you can ask the staff to help you if you get stuck.

 

3. Print across more than one sheet

If you have a home printer, you can print a page over several sheets. On my home printer, I had to use the following route:

a. Open the ‘Print using system dialogue’ option (Ctrl + Shift + P)

b. Click the ‘Multiple Page’ option

c. Select ‘Print 1 in 2x2 pages’

This spread the single page chart over 4 pages, making it much easier to read. Once you’ve printed your sheets, you’ll want to stick them together to make one big chart. Before you do this, check whether some of the pages need trimming. Once you have trimmed them, use glue stick or clear tape to stick the pages together to make your chart.

 

What next?

I really hope this has helped. Why not pick up one of my intarsia patterns to test out your new printing skills?

• Intarsia patterns on Ravelry**
• Intarsia patterns on PayHip

Pattern in the photos is Giraffe Family Blanket.

**Ravelry link, may cause issues for people with photosensitivity. Proceed with caution.

 

 

Judy’s Magic Cast-On - the perfect way to start toe-up socks

Judy’s Magic Cast-On is my favourite cast-on method for knitting socks from the toe-up. It’s invisible from both the inside and the outside of the sock, and once you’ve done it a few times, it’ll be second nature to you.

You can work Judy’s Magic Cast-On using double-pointed needles (DPNs) or the magic loop technique. In the example, I use magic loop on a long circular needle.

 

Casting on

1. Hold two needle tips parallel to one another with the working tips pointing to the left.

2. Loop the yarn over the bottom needle, with the yarn tail (at least 30 cm, see Tips and Tricks section at the end for guidance) at the front of the needles and the yarn going to the ball at the back of the needles.

3. Crossing the yarn tail and the working yarn, wrap the working yarn over the top needle to create a stitch on the top needle.

4. Crossing the yarn tail and the working yarn, wrap the yarn tail round the bottom needle to create a stitch on the bottom needle.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have the required number of stitches on each needle. Looking at the back of your stitches, you should see a row of purl bumps.

Working the first round

1. Using the working yarn, knit the stitches on the first needle *through the back loop* - this untwists the stitches across the cast on edge. Note, most knitters find that they need to knit the first half of their stitches cast on using Judy’s Magic cast-on through the backs of the loops to untwist them, but you may not need to; if the first half of your stitches are not twisted, knit them as usual, not through the backs of the loops.

2. Knit the stitches on the second needle. You have completed your first round! Well done.

 

Tips and tricks

How long should your yarn tail be?

The length of yarn you leave as a yarn tail depends on how many stitches you are casting on. A simple rule is to have 2.5 cm (1 in) of yarn per stitch you’ll be casting on using the yarn tail (remember that only half the total number of stitches will be cast on using the yarn tail, the rest will come from the working yarn), plus 15 cm (6 in). If you want to be more accurate, take your yarn and your needles, leave a 15 cm (6 in) tail, then wrap the yarn around your needle tip once for each stitch. This should show you roughly how much yarn you’ll need for your cast-on.

 

Marking the start of the round

Once you’ve worked the first couple of rounds, you can use your yarn tail as a beginning of round marker. At the start of the round, simply take your yarn tail and pass it between the needle tips so it sticks out the side of your knitting. Knit as normal and the yarn tail will remind you which side of your knitting is the beginning of the round.

 

When you’ve finished knitting and no longer need the beginning of round marker, turn your knitting inside out, grab the vertical strand of yarn, and pull it back to the inside of the knitting.

 

What next?

Ready to try a pattern that uses Judy’s Magic Cast-On? Why not try:

• Little Pine Cone Socks (launching October 1st)*
• Seed Head Socks*
• Contorto Socks*
  

Judy’s Magic Cast-On isn’t just for socks, it can be used for any double-sided knitting where you want an invisible cast-on, e.g. Elephant Parade* and Fantastical Foxes Set* – Judy’s Magic Cast-On is used to cast on the ears.

 *Ravelry link, may cause issues for people with photosensitivity. Proceed with caution. For alternative places to buy, check out my shop section.