Tubular Cast-on

ROUGH DRAFT: I welcome your comments and suggestions. I'd like to get the tutorials up and running before the pattern goes up for sale (the tutorials will remain on this blog, to be used as a reference for the drop-stitch fingerless mitts pattern). Please note that I try to break the tutorials down step-by-step, aiming to make it clear for even a beginner - for those of you who are more experienced, this may oversimplify. Bear with me.
[corrections so far: corrected rows 1 & 2 of the slip stitch pattern, removed the instructions for a casing (too many problems with getting it to work over an odd number of stitches)]

Tubular Cast-on, as used for the Running Without Scissors drop-stitch fingerless mitts. There are other ways to do a tubular cast-on (the Reader's Digest Knitter's Handbook by Montse Stanley is an excellent resource, and there's a very good photo tutorial by Amelia Raitte on her blog); the following is the one I prefer. Click on the photos to get a larger view in a separate window.

closeup of finished tubular cast-on - smooth edge, stockinette on both sides

Materials:
waste yarn (mercerized cotton is my preference, anything smooth and slippery will do), about 4 times the length of the final cast-on
crochet hook (I use a size G for projects on US 5 - US 8 needles)
yarn as called for in the pattern
safety pin
knitting needles: in the size called for in the pattern for the body of the piece
knitting needles: 2 - 3 sizes smaller than the needles used for the body of the piece

This is a great cast-on if you need a stretchy hem, and a beautiful, smooth, rounded edge for 1x1 ribbing as well. There is a matching bind off (still working on that tute, check out the Knitters Handbook for a couple of versions). You'll need to start it on needles about 2-3 sizes smaller than the needles that will be used for the rest of the project, and will have to work it over an uneven number of stitches (you can do a decrease or increase after changing to the bigger needles if you need to). I recommend doing a swatch to determine how many needle sizes smaller you want to go.

Tubular Cast-On:

1. With waste yarn and crochet hook, crochet a chain of at least 4 more than the required number of stitches. Pull end through and mark (a safety pin is good). There are two sides to the chain: the side that looks like a braid and the side with a row of bumps running down the center. You want the bumpy side facing up and the marker to your right.

2. Using the smaller size knitting needles, begin at the marked end and work to the left. Skip two chains (bumps) and pick up a stitch under the third bump. *YO, bringing the yarn under the needle from front to back. Pick up a stitch under the next bump. Repeat from * until you have the required number of stitches on the needle.

required number of stitches on the needle

alternate view: where you begin. The stitches with the purl "bump" are the ones which were knitted on the previous row and therefore will be slipped on this row

3. Work at least the first 2 rows as follows:
Row 1: *slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front, k1* [slip the knitted stitches and knit the slipped stitches from the previous row]
Row 2: [knit the slipped stitches and slip the knitted stitches from the previous row]

repeat rows 1 and 2 as desired

4. After working the first two rows of the cuff, you can pick out the waste yarn crochet chain. It’s easier if you start from the marked end of the chain - undo the last chain and start pulling the waste yarn out.

undo the first crocheted stitch

start pulling on the waste yarn

keep pulling

waste yarn removed

ready to switch to larger needles

You will now switch to the larger size needles. I'm using needles made of different materials so that you can see which is the smaller needle (bamboo) and which is the larger (steel) - use whatever needles you want, so long as they are the correct size.

Just start knitting with the larger needle

All stitches are now on the larger size needle, and you can begin knitting with both larger size needles.

Comments

[kathi]

nice...i'll have to practice this. glad to hear puppy is doing better.

[Barb]

You make it look, easy. Now to find a project to use it on :)