There are a few ways to make a cast on edge that keeps the stockinette fabric from curling without drastically changing the look of this widely used stitch pattern. All these ways have one major disadvantage – the very bottom of the edge is bumpy and uneven.
It happens because we pull stitches from the edge to form a tuck, our secret weapon against the infamous stockinette curl.
I tested different approaches and found a method that allows us to get the best from both worlds – a non-curling edge decorated with a lovely chain of stitches at the bottom.
WATCH EVERY STEP IN THIS VIDEO TUTORIAL
(if you don’t see the video, turn off the ad blocker in your browser)
The beautiful chain of stitches at the very edge of this improved version of the tuck cast on is formed by the Chain Cast On method.
The easiest way to make this cast on is by using a crochet hook and a knitting needle. It is ok if you don’t know how to crochet. This method does not require any crocheting. We simply use a crochet hook as a handy tool that helps us to form a set of stitches on the knitting needle.
To make sure the edge does not stretch too much, choose a crochet hook that is one or two sizes smaller than the size of the knitting needles you are using to make the project. For example, I will use a hook in size 8 mm (L-11) with 10 mm (US size 11) knitting needles.
STEP 1
Make a slip knot and place it on the crochet hook.
STEP 2
Align a knitting needle with the crochet hook so that the working yarn is at the back of the needle. Turn the crochet hook so that its “nose” is facing you. Hold the needle, the yarn tail and the crochet hook in your left hand.
STEP 3
Take the working yarn in your right hand and move it counter clockwise around the top of the needle and the front of the crochet hook to wrap them from back to front. Keep the yarn wrap above the stitch on the crochet hook.
STEP 4
Take the crochet hook in your right hand and hold it together with the working yarn. Hold the knitting needle and the yarn tail in your left hand.
STEP 5
Twist the hook a bit so that its “nose” catches the yarn wrap. Then move the crochet hook down to push the wrap through the stitch creating a new stitch on the knitting needle.
To make it easier for the hook to “dive” into the stitch, pull the bottom of the stitch down opening the loop a bit more.
Repeat steps 2 through 5 until the number of stitches on the knitting needle equals the number of stitches you need for the project less one stitch. For example, for a swatch worked over 10 stitches, I will stop when I have 9 stitches on the knitting needle and one stitch on the crochet hook.
Insert the tip of the knitting needle from right to left into the stitch on the hook and ease the crochet hook out leaving that stitch on the knitting needle.
The easiest way to do it is to stretch the last stitch before you move it to the knitting needle, and pull the working yarn to tighten this stitch after the move is finished.
The next part of the Tuck Cast On is to make a narrow band that will form a tuck. This part is very easy. We simply purl all stitches in the first row, knit all stitches in the next row and, finally, purl all stitches again in the last row of the band.
Turn the work so that the knit side of the fabric is facing you.
Rotate the fabric around the needle so that the cast on edge is at the top of the knitting needle and move the working yarn to the right. Then take an empty knitting needle in your right hand.
Now we are ready to work the “tuck row” – a row where we use our three-row band to form a “curl-preventing” tuck. We do it by picking up a strand from the first row of the fabric and knitting it together with a corresponding stitch on the left needle.
The way the fabric is arranged right now, the strands that we are going to pick up form upward curves. They look like “smiles”, not like “frowns”.
STEP 1a
Insert the tip of the right needle from the top down under the “tuck strand” that corresponds to the first stitch on the left needle.
With the cast on edge at the top of the knitting needle, this strand will be the top upward curve (“smile”) above the first stitch from the tip of the left needle.
STEP 2a
Stretch this strand a bit and place it on the left needle. Do it purlwise, without twisting the strand.
STEP 3a
Knit the first stitch from the tip of the left needle together with the picked-up strand.
Repeat these three steps until you pick up all “tuck strands” and knit them together with the corresponding stitches sitting on the left needle. Make sure the working yarn does not get caught between the stitch and the picked-up strand.
The cast on edge is formed and now we can work in the main pattern of the project.
Note, that the next row will be a wrong-side row, so follow the pattern instructions for a wrong-side row. If you work in stockinette stitch, purl all stitches.
To add this edging to a project worked in the round, follow the same steps but knit all stitches in every round for three rounds when you make the narrow band of fabric that forms a tuck later on. The rest of the process is exactly the same as the one we followed when we added Tuck Cast On to a piece of fabric worked back and forth.
HERE’S A VIDEO TUTORIAL THAT SHOWS EVERY STEP
The edge formed by this cast on method is quite stretchy. That makes it perfect for any project, from hats and sweaters to mittens and top-down socks. It is a beautiful edge that does not leave the stockinette curl a single chance.
SAVE IT FOR LATER
This and 36 other in-depth tutorials are part of Knitting Collection #7.
