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Monday, April 16, 2018

Monday Mini Tip Tutorial - Invisible Provisional Cast On

If you read my blog last week about my new pattern - La Scala - you may have already seen this tutorial but I wanted it to have it's own blog post.

The invisible cast on is a form of provisional cast on. A provisional cast on is a way of casting on that leaves a row of live stitches. These stitches are used later to either knit an edging into or knit in the opposite direction or something similar.

There are several provisional cast ons but this is my favourite. As I mention in the video, it's not necessarily suitable if you cast on a lot of stitches although I've used it for 100+ stitches. The yarn is basically wound around the needle and can easily untwist either while you're casting on or while you're knitting the first row. So if you are using this for a lot of stitches, I recommend casting on more stitches than you need.

It's difficult to go back and count how many stitches you've cast on before you start knitting, so I recommend casting on a few extras. When you work row 1, just work the number of stitches you need and drop the remaining stitches and let them unravel. You'll just end up with a longer tail.

The same applies if you need an odd number of stitches. With this method you're casting on in pairs of two, so if you need an odd number, cast on an even number. For ex. if I need 39, I cast on at least 40 stitches and on the first row I work 39 stitches and let the remaining cast on stitches drop and unravel.

I don't recommend using a circular needle if you're casting on more than about 30-50 stitches. Once the stitches slide onto the cable, they start to unravel easily. Use a straight needle if possible.

As I mention in the video, before you start row one of the pattern you need to work a set up row. If you're working in stocking (stockinette) stitch then purl one row. If you're working in garter stitch or reverse stocking (stockinette) stitch knit one row.

If you have any questions please leave a comment on You Tube or e-mail me on yarnaddictcs@gmail.com.


You can also watch the tutorial here.

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