Traditionally, this cast on method is used to start a garter stitch border on Channel Island sweaters – a variation of well-known Guernsey sweaters. The edge looks very similar to picot edging but without a bulky hem that often accompanies picot edge.
The other great benefit of the edge formed by this method is its elasticity – it stretches quite a bit, but springs back to its original shape right after it gets relaxed.
All these properties combined with the “dot-space-dot-space” structure, make this cast on perfect for starting “knit 1, purl 1” rib.
When used with ribbing, this cast on becomes a bit of a chameleon, changing its look depending on the way we work the first row or round. It might keep the beaded picot-like appearance, or look more like an edge created with the tubular cast on method. Both options are great for hats, socks, mittens, the bottom of sweaters and sleeve cuffs.
We can get all these benefits in just five simple steps.
If you are a visual learner, watch each step in a video tutorial:
SETUP
This method is based on the long-tail cast on. We’ll need a pretty long tail, and we’ll need to double it.
First, measure a tail that is at least 3 times as long as the length of the future cast on edge. Then fold the yarn and measure the same length again making a double-stranded tail.
Place the double-stranded tail on your left thumb and the working yarn on your left index finger and hold all three strands with the rest of your left fingers, just as we do when we use the long-tail cast on method.
Then take the loose single-stranded end of the double tail, align it with a knitting needle, and hold them together in your right hand.
It is also possible to start by making a slip knot. This will secure all strands but it will also add bulk at the beginning of the row. I prefer to use Channel Island cast on without making a slip knot.
To form the picot-like look, we’ll alternate “beaded” stitches with yarn overs.
Start by making a yarn over. In the setup we created, making a yarn over is super easy – we simply place the tip of the right needle under the single strand stretched between our left thumb and index fingers.
Now we are ready to cast on more stitches.
STEP 1
Take your left thumb out of the sling formed by the double-stranded tail and the working yarn and move it counterclockwise around the tail twice, wrapping your thumb with two double-stranded loops.
STEP 2
Insert the tip of the right needle from the bottom up under both loops formed on your left thumb.
STEP 3
Move the needle around the working yarn from right to left to make a yarn over.
STEP 4
Pull this yarn over through the loops formed on your left thumb.
Take the thumb out of the loops and back into the sling between the tail and the working yarn.
Spread your left thumb and index fingers apart to tighten the loops at the bottom of the newly-formed stitch.
To keep the edge neat, it is important to hold stitches on the needle close to each other as you tighten the loops.
You can also use your left thumb and index fingers to tighten one of the loops first, and then tighten the other loop, but it is not necessary. Holding stitches close to each other on the needle is usually enough to ensure the edge is even.
STEP 5
Make a yarn over by moving the tip of the needle from right to left around the working yarn.
Repeat these steps to cast on as many stitches as you need for your project.
To work back and forth, turn your work and bring the working yarn to the front, around the double-stranded tail and to the back of the work forming a “bead” under the first stitch of the row.
If you start a seamless project, rearrange stitches on the needles for working in the round and get ready for working the first round.
When we stretch the stitches on the needle, we’ll see that stitches with a “bead” at the bottom alternate with “bead-less” stitches formed by yarn overs.
If you want to keep the picot-like look of the edging when you use this cast on with the “knit 1, purl 1” ribbing, knit the stitches with the “bead” at the bottom and purl the yarn overs.
To get the same effect on cast on worked in the round, do the opposite – purl the stitches with the “bead” at the bottom and knit the yarn overs.
If you want the edge to resemble an edge formed by the tubular cast on method, purl the stitches with the “bead” at the bottom and knit the yarn overs when you work back and forth, and do the opposite when you work in the round.
No matter how you choose to work the first row or round, the cast on edge will be stretchy, and it will look great (though not the same!) on both sides of the work.
When it is time to hide the tails, weave in the remnants of the double-stranded tail at the right side of the work, and a short single-stranded tail hanging at the left side.
SAVE IT FOR LATER:
This and 41 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #6.
