How to Cast On Knitting

Before you can begin knitting a project, you first must cast on knitting stitches to your knitting needles. Once you get the hang of casting on stitches it is very easy to do. This article will walk you through the steps you nee to cast on stitches.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Yarn
• Knitting Needles

1. Taking one end of yarn from your skein, extend it so that you can use that yarn to cast on your stitches. The length of yarn that you extend from the skein should be approximately one inch per stitch you are casting on to your needles plus a little extra to make sure you have enough yarn.

2. Make a loose slip knot and slip it on to your needle. This counts as your first cast on stitch.

3. Hold the needle and the tail of your yarn in your right hand. The tail of yarn is the yarn that you extended from the skein in step 1, above.

4. Hold the skein of yarn in your left hand. The yarn coming from the skein should be under your pinky, ring and middle fingers and then loop around the back of your thumb.

5. Insert your needle between the palm of your hand and the yarn that is resting between your thumb and first finger.

6. Wrap the yarn in your right hand around the needle from back to front as if you were going to knit a stitch.

7. Slip the needle through the loop of yarn on your thumb from back to front and slip the stitch off your thumb. You now have two stitches cast on to your needle.

8. Repeat steps 2 - 7 until you have the desired number of stitches on your needle.

Tips & Warnings

• You may need to practice casting on for a while before you get it right; however once you do it is easy to do and a valuable knitting skill that you will use often.
• Be careful not to twist your stitches as you cast them on to your needles.
• Be sure not to cast on too tightly or too loosely. If you achieve the right tension with your cast on then your finished project will have a neat looking edge.