Excellent demonstration/comparison of two stretchy cast-ons, with very clear observations of what the benefits of each are. Thank you for being so thorough and thoughtful in your demonstration. You are a great teacher! I have watched almost 6 or 7 videos on cable cast on and old norweigan, and yours is the absolute BEST!!
you so clearly describe everything that needs to be considered....you are an excellent teacher . Thanks from an old teacher who is now knitting socks again after 50 years. had to leave my ceramics behind and go back to former crafts. I needed this info for my socks, Thanks again
I have graduated from the cable cast on to the Old Norwegian twisted cast on, that I prefer. It is my default cast on and works in all situations, whereas the cable cast on has to be made looser for a more flexible cast on project like socks or a sweater. Thank you Anushka. You are amazing and I really enjoy your philosophical chats.
Your video is just what I was looking for! I'm knitting a pair of mittens for my 3 year old grand-nephew. The pattern says the size I'm making is for a 2-6 year old. However, to me, it really doesn't look like the cast-on edge would stretch enough to fit over a 6year old's hand. I'm hoping he will get a good 2+ years of wear out of them (and hopefully not lose them either 😉). My pattern book does have instructions for the cable cast on and I did give it a try. After watching your demonstration, I believe I'll give it another try. 😊 Thank you for your wonderful and helpful tutorial. I'm saving it so I can easily reference back to it as needed. 💜✌️🧶
I love to use your cable cast on. With your way like you said you don't need to keep ripping out cast on if you are doing a very large project it is easier to reach your needed cast on number and it is great how you stick the needle in between the last knitted stitch. Thank you i need a stretchy edge for socks.. i really like a stretchy edge for my socks. Thank you.
Thank you so very much for your very thorough tutorial and review of both of these methods! I've been knitting for 26 years (self-taught) but I have a difficult time learning new things when I can't figure them out from a pattern & I can't see what people are doing in videos! I normally use one of 2 CO methods - I either knit my stitches on from a slip knot, or I crochet them on (I've crocheted most of my life - I also BO using a crochet hook). However, I wanted to start making socks because I love ankle socks & want to make my own & crocheted socks (I'm finding) are more like slippers, so I wanted to knit them, despite my ineptitude with dpns (circulars I can do; dpns, not so much). So I bought some inexpensive sock yarn & I'm trying to learn the basics. Every tutorial prior to yours - even ones that try to take into account 1st timers - make too many assumptions, their hands cover up their work, or they don't explain things I don't understand -- I was about to give up for the day until I saw that you offered an alternative to the Old Norwegian CO & would demonstrate the difference. The Cable CO is just a variation of the knit CO I already do! I also like the fact that it's not as noticeable. Since I want to make mostly anklet socks, I don't need a lot of stretch, I just need a little stretch. THANK YOU for showing there's more than one way to start your socks! Btw, you can also call that hand position in the Old Norwegian CO a "capital L". I greatly appreciate this tutorial, I will be saving it among my favorite knitting tips! Love the projects you showed in your video! When I'm done learning the new things on my current To Do list, I want to take a look at your other videos!
I was struggling with another 'stretchy' cast on when your video popped up with the cable cast on. Easy! Am about to get into my first mitten. Thank you 🙏🏿
Just found your channel, new sub now. I was taught the cable cast on, but told to twist the new stitch before you add it to the left needle. But when I do that there isn't much 'give' in the cast on. I am going to cast on with no twist from now on! Thank you so much, a tiny change but it will make a big difference!
I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this video. I just heard of the Old Norwegian method for the very first time hours ago and was wondering if it might be the answer to my sock cuff problems. I'd tried the cable cast on previously, but it was not stretchy enough to handle my calves. Thank you for the clear, detailed tutorial and comparison!
I’ve used the Old Norwegian cast on since I started knitting but I really love the first one you showed and am going to try that one too! Thank you for this, you’re very good at instructing, you go slow, show us both sides of the work, repeat what we should be doing and also provide little memory things to help us with remembering if we are doing it correctly. I had no idea that the Norwegian method was a good way to do this, other then it seemed to work, but now I know for sure! I also liked how you showed us it flat and on the DPNs in the round. I’m very visual so sometimes even reading it in a knitting book I’ll go “okay...” and not really be sure. Showing us everything was super helpful.
thank you for this tutorial. I have been trying to master the german twisted cast on for a while now. By the way, the "gunslinger" formation of your hands can be described by laying your left hand flat, palm down, and then shaping an L from your index finger and your thumb.
I love how your comparison included both flat and in the round. I've never stopped to think about how that might affect the look of a cast on. I use the cable cast on for everything. I don't think its discrete, but it's so pretty. I see it as a frame to my knitting. The twisted German cast on is much much faster, but I don't want my knitting to be fast, I want it to be enjoyable, and anything with a long tail is stressful to me.
I have always used the cable cast on, and when someone asked me why i said it is the only way to cast one, its amazing how many others there are but the longtail cast on looks like magic to me. I have never had the urge to try it. I do love Judy's magic cast on for knitting my socks from the toe up tho. thanks for a great tutorial.
Thank you for this video! I finally finished knitting my very first pair of vanilla socks- and got your Ice Pop Socks pattern as a reward and to help motivate me to be better at knitting socks!
I’ve used both of these cast ons many times now thanks to this video. While the cable cast on is a bit easier, it doesn’t work as well with fuzzier yarns or wooden needles, especially if you know your going to mess up and redo the cast on a lot with the same piece of yarn. For these scenarios, I like the old Norwegian twisted cast on. I also find that the old Norwegian twisted cast on stretches the same length as ribbing while the cable cast on is a bit tighter
Excellent information! I know only the Old Norwegian cast on. I taught myself in the parking lot of a place of Summer employment several years ago. I'll have a go now at the other cast on.
First time I tried this, I couldn't get it at all, but I tried again, and the cable cast on is SO GOOD. I will definitely be using it for all of my future projects. Thank you for this great tutorial!
Thank you for this! I just started my first pair of socks. Still couldn't figure out the knitted cast on, but the Old Norwegian cast on went so quick. Excited to show the final product!
Lovely étude in casting on. Personal experience: dyslexia makes Old Norwegian Cast On challenging. However you mention muscle memory which I achieve quite easily after learning this CO. But it is forgotten just as quickly so that next time I need it, I must go through the entire learning process as if for the very first time. Your demonstration is flawless and most helpful. Thank you.
I learned the 2nd way when my granny taught me as a child. I'm a crochet enthusiast, but at least I could cast on and do a stocking knit stitch or a pearl rib if I had to. 😉
I have never used a cable cast on for socks , i only use it for casting on a small amount of stitches. I should give it a try. I mainly use the long tail cast on and the old norwegian cast on . Those cast ons go faster for me.
Your tutorial videos are really good. I love this one because you have taught me two new methods. I was looking at a pattern recently that mentioned the twisted German cast on, so great timing. I can see myself using both.
I really like your videos.... My best wishes to get lots and lots of subscribers! and hope you don’t change, you have a lovely style and manner about you. I never write comments or subscribe to anything that involves social media, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching your videos when I came across them in the last few months of lockdown, so I hope that by subscribing it helps you somehow. I’ll be purchasing your sock patterns soon🤩
Thank you for the lovely comment and feedback! Yes, by commenting/subscribing, it helps my videos get out into more people's feeds, spread the word and grow the channel. So I appreciate it!
Hello, what is this cable cast on?! Brilliant! I love the Old Norwegian cast on, I've been using that one for years, but I always estimate my starting amount of yarn wrong! Thanks for the tip of how you estimate!
Do you think the cable cast on would be good for a cotton yarn for cuffs and ribbing hem? Thank you so much for your video. I like seeing the comparisons.
If you want to have the right side of the cable cast on face out, you can knit one row flat and join your round after that first row of knitting, then connect the cast on edge when you weave in your end!
Hi , no problem with the long tail cast but when I try the Norwegian cast on I end up with the yarn wool on top of the needle. What am I doing wrong. Thanks in advance .
Hey Anushka! Great video! I'm a huge fan of the podcast too. I have a question: do you use smaller needles for the cast on and cuff of socks and larger ones for the rest?
I've only ever used (for over 50 years)the knit on cast on but am now making the Ranunculus sweater for my daughter. I tried doing the cast on the pattern called for (double twist loop) to make the wider neckline, but wasn't able to master it (it was much tighter than my usual cast on)and just did my usual. Now I'm afraid the neckline won't be stretchy enough. I'm on the 4th section and don't want to start all over; can I tear out the cast on and redo it when I get to the end if it's not stretchy enough? How do I do that? Could you do a tutorial for the double twist loop cast on? I'm supposed to have this done by Christmas, but I don't think I'll make it! Thanks for your help!
No need to guess the length of a tail for the long tail cast on if you use both ends of the yarn from the ball. Start with a slip knot tying the yarn from inside the ball and outside the ball, separate and cast on as usual . At the end of the cast on cut off the yarn which you no longer need.
I just realized I've been substituting the backwards loop cast on for the cable cast on in all the patterns that call for a cable cast on. When did I start doing this? And why? I do know both methods. Knitting is WEIRD.
I learnt the old Norwegian cast on/ german twisted cast on as the first cast on I knew without realising it is a stretchy cast on. I use both of these interchangeably on socks. 😊 I have a question I hope someone can answer or guide me in the right direction of. I got a pair of knee-high socks from someone in my extended family. It was a sweet story behind the socks (her mum, who is no longer with us, knitted them for her but she only got one of them for her bday, she decided to not say anything to her mum and 6 months later in the post, the second sock arrived without explanation.. 😂) Anyway, the socks never fitted her so she gifted them to me, but I think her mum didn't use a stretchy cast on (I think they are knitted top-down) - can I do anything to make it stretchier? I do not want to reknit or anything as the socks have a lot of meaning and are beautifully knit otherwise.
There is nothing you can do to make it stretchier without removing the original cast-on stitches, putting the now live stitches on your needle(s), and then using a stretchy bind-off, If your socks were knitted from the top down, the cast-on stitches will not just ravel. You will have to pull them out stitch by stitch. I went through this procedure with a pair of socks just recently, and it was definitely worth the trouble. I recommend JSSBO, the Italian bind-off, or the interlock bind-off. All three are very stretchy. The Italian and the interlock bind-offs are sewn bind-offs, so I guess they don't involve reknitting after all! I understand that you really don't want to add your work to the "beautifully knit" socks that you now have. However, don't you think the lady who knitted them would be happy to see them being worn rather than lying unused in a dresser drawer?
Waaaiit... with a long-tail cast-on your first row is always the wrong side row, so the slanted edge should always be at the front!! The purl bumps are the "wrong" side. (This came up recently at knit night when a fairly new beginner wasn't aware of right side/wrong side and was soon pointed in the "right" direction by the Swiss ladies who all had extremely strict craft teachers at school, in fact, one of the ladies IS a craft teacher - the Swiss take these things very seriously lol!!) Of course, if you like the look you are free to do either, but strictly speaking...
Excellent demonstration/comparison of two stretchy cast-ons, with very clear observations of what the benefits of each are. Thank you for being so thorough and thoughtful in your demonstration. You are a great teacher! I have watched almost 6 or 7 videos on cable cast on and old norweigan, and yours is the absolute BEST!!
I really like your teaching method of repeating all the steps several times! Thank you.
you so clearly describe everything that needs to be considered....you are an excellent teacher . Thanks from an old teacher who is now knitting socks again after 50 years. had to leave my ceramics behind and go back to former crafts. I needed this info for my socks, Thanks again
I have graduated from the cable cast on to the Old Norwegian twisted cast on, that I prefer. It is my default cast on and works in all situations, whereas the cable cast on has to be made looser for a more flexible cast on project like socks or a sweater. Thank you Anushka. You are amazing and I really enjoy your philosophical chats.
Your video is just what I was looking for!
I'm knitting a pair of mittens for my 3 year old grand-nephew. The pattern says the size I'm making is for a 2-6 year old. However, to me, it really doesn't look like the cast-on edge would stretch enough to fit over a 6year old's hand. I'm hoping he will get a good 2+ years of wear out of them (and hopefully not lose them either 😉). My pattern book does have instructions for the cable cast on and I did give it a try. After watching your demonstration, I believe I'll give it another try. 😊
Thank you for your wonderful and helpful tutorial. I'm saving it so I can easily reference back to it as needed.
💜✌️🧶
I love to use your cable cast on. With your way like you said you don't need to keep ripping out cast on if you are doing a very large project it is easier to reach your needed cast on number and it is great how you stick the needle in between the last knitted stitch. Thank you i need a stretchy edge for socks.. i really like a stretchy edge for my socks. Thank you.
This is great! I watched a plethora of vids but this was the best method for me. Happy knitting!
Thank you so very much for your very thorough tutorial and review of both of these methods! I've been knitting for 26 years (self-taught) but I have a difficult time learning new things when I can't figure them out from a pattern & I can't see what people are doing in videos! I normally use one of 2 CO methods - I either knit my stitches on from a slip knot, or I crochet them on (I've crocheted most of my life - I also BO using a crochet hook). However, I wanted to start making socks because I love ankle socks & want to make my own & crocheted socks (I'm finding) are more like slippers, so I wanted to knit them, despite my ineptitude with dpns (circulars I can do; dpns, not so much). So I bought some inexpensive sock yarn & I'm trying to learn the basics. Every tutorial prior to yours - even ones that try to take into account 1st timers - make too many assumptions, their hands cover up their work, or they don't explain things I don't understand -- I was about to give up for the day until I saw that you offered an alternative to the Old Norwegian CO & would demonstrate the difference. The Cable CO is just a variation of the knit CO I already do! I also like the fact that it's not as noticeable. Since I want to make mostly anklet socks, I don't need a lot of stretch, I just need a little stretch. THANK YOU for showing there's more than one way to start your socks!
Btw, you can also call that hand position in the Old Norwegian CO a "capital L".
I greatly appreciate this tutorial, I will be saving it among my favorite knitting tips! Love the projects you showed in your video! When I'm done learning the new things on my current To Do list, I want to take a look at your other videos!
I was struggling with another 'stretchy' cast on when your video popped up with the cable cast on. Easy! Am about to get into my first mitten. Thank you 🙏🏿
Just found your channel, new sub now. I was taught the cable cast on, but told to twist the new stitch before you add it to the left needle. But when I do that there isn't much 'give' in the cast on. I am going to cast on with no twist from now on! Thank you so much, a tiny change but it will make a big difference!
I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this video. I just heard of the Old Norwegian method for the very first time hours ago and was wondering if it might be the answer to my sock cuff problems. I'd tried the cable cast on previously, but it was not stretchy enough to handle my calves. Thank you for the clear, detailed tutorial and comparison!
Wonderful - I hope it works for you! The Cable cast on is *slightly* less stretchy, sometimes I have to consciously do it very loosely
I’ve used the Old Norwegian cast on since I started knitting but I really love the first one you showed and am going to try that one too! Thank you for this, you’re very good at instructing, you go slow, show us both sides of the work, repeat what we should be doing and also provide little memory things to help us with remembering if we are doing it correctly.
I had no idea that the Norwegian method was a good way to do this, other then it seemed to work, but now I know for sure!
I also liked how you showed us it flat and on the DPNs in the round. I’m very visual so sometimes even reading it in a knitting book I’ll go “okay...” and not really be sure. Showing us everything was super helpful.
Thank you for this feedback, it's great to hear that my video was helpful with the depth and the multiple variations. Happy knitting!
thank you for this tutorial. I have been trying to master the german twisted cast on for a while now. By the way, the "gunslinger" formation of your hands can be described by laying your left hand flat, palm down, and then shaping an L from your index finger and your thumb.
I love how your comparison included both flat and in the round. I've never stopped to think about how that might affect the look of a cast on.
I use the cable cast on for everything. I don't think its discrete, but it's so pretty. I see it as a frame to my knitting. The twisted German cast on is much much faster, but I don't want my knitting to be fast, I want it to be enjoyable, and anything with a long tail is stressful to me.
The frame to the knitting - such a lovely way of seeing it!
Excellent video! Easy to see exactly what you are doing. You cover any questions I may have. Thank you ❣️
Brilliant! Will be ditching my default long tail cast on forthwith. These both look amazing and not difficult either. Many thanks Anushka👍🏽😀
Glad it was helpful!
I have always used the cable cast on, and when someone asked me why i said it is the only way to cast one, its amazing how many others there are but the longtail cast on looks like magic to me. I have never had the urge to try it. I do love Judy's magic cast on for knitting my socks from the toe up tho. thanks for a great tutorial.
Thank you for this video! I finally finished knitting my very first pair of vanilla socks- and got your Ice Pop Socks pattern as a reward and to help motivate me to be better at knitting socks!
So wonderful to hear! Hope you have fun with my patterns :D
Fabulous tutorial! I love how you compared the finished products using the 2 cast ons! Thank you so much!
I’ve used both of these cast ons many times now thanks to this video. While the cable cast on is a bit easier, it doesn’t work as well with fuzzier yarns or wooden needles, especially if you know your going to mess up and redo the cast on a lot with the same piece of yarn. For these scenarios, I like the old Norwegian twisted cast on. I also find that the old Norwegian twisted cast on stretches the same length as ribbing while the cable cast on is a bit tighter
Excellent information!
I know only the Old Norwegian cast on. I taught myself in the parking lot of a place of Summer employment several years ago. I'll have a go now at the other cast on.
First time I tried this, I couldn't get it at all, but I tried again, and the cable cast on is SO GOOD. I will definitely be using it for all of my future projects. Thank you for this great tutorial!
Very clear explanation. Thank-you.
Thank you for this! I just started my first pair of socks. Still couldn't figure out the knitted cast on, but the Old Norwegian cast on went so quick. Excited to show the final product!
Lovely étude in casting on.
Personal experience: dyslexia makes Old Norwegian Cast On challenging. However you mention muscle memory which I achieve quite easily after learning this CO. But it is forgotten just as quickly so that next time I need it, I must go through the entire learning process as if for the very first time.
Your demonstration is flawless and most helpful. Thank you.
I'm so glad it was helpful. We're all different with different learning styles, it's good to keep experimenting to find what works. Happy knitting!
I learned the 2nd way when my granny taught me as a child. I'm a crochet enthusiast, but at least I could cast on and do a stocking knit stitch or a pearl rib if I had to. 😉
Brilliant!
Perfect timing!! I'm thinking of knitting my first pair of socks ever soon (partially due to your influence haha), so this is super helpful!
Wonderful to hear 😊
you will be hooked
I'm just starting my first sweater and this is super helpful and I'll try this for my next pair of socks
That sounds great - good luck with your first sweater!
I have never used a cable cast on for socks , i only use it for casting on a small amount of stitches. I should give it a try. I mainly use the long tail cast on and the old norwegian cast on . Those cast ons go faster for me.
They're definitely fast!
Your tutorial videos are really good. I love this one because you have taught me two new methods. I was looking at a pattern recently that mentioned the twisted German cast on, so great timing. I can see myself using both.
I really like your videos.... My best wishes to get lots and lots of subscribers! and hope you don’t change, you have a lovely style and manner about you. I never write comments or subscribe to anything that involves social media, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching your videos when I came across them in the last few months of lockdown, so I hope that by subscribing it helps you somehow. I’ll be purchasing your sock patterns soon🤩
Thank you for the lovely comment and feedback! Yes, by commenting/subscribing, it helps my videos get out into more people's feeds, spread the word and grow the channel. So I appreciate it!
Hello, what is this cable cast on?! Brilliant! I love the Old Norwegian cast on, I've been using that one for years, but I always estimate my starting amount of yarn wrong! Thanks for the tip of how you estimate!
Do you think the cable cast on would be good for a cotton yarn for cuffs and ribbing hem? Thank you so much for your video. I like seeing the comparisons.
If you want to have the right side of the cable cast on face out, you can knit one row flat and join your round after that first row of knitting, then connect the cast on edge when you weave in your end!
Hi , no problem with the long tail cast but when I try the Norwegian cast on I end up with the yarn wool on top of the needle. What am I doing wrong. Thanks in advance .
Hey Anushka! Great video! I'm a huge fan of the podcast too. I have a question: do you use smaller needles for the cast on and cuff of socks and larger ones for the rest?
I've only ever used (for over 50 years)the knit on cast on but am now making the Ranunculus sweater for my daughter. I tried doing the cast on the pattern called for (double twist loop) to make the wider neckline, but wasn't able to master it (it was much tighter than my usual cast on)and just did my usual. Now I'm afraid the neckline won't be stretchy enough. I'm on the 4th section and don't want to start all over; can I tear out the cast on and redo it when I get to the end if it's not stretchy enough? How do I do that? Could you do a tutorial for the double twist loop cast on? I'm supposed to have this done by Christmas, but I don't think I'll make it! Thanks for your help!
No need to guess the length of a tail for the long tail cast on if you use both ends of the yarn from the ball. Start with a slip knot tying the yarn from inside the ball and outside the ball, separate and cast on as usual . At the end of the cast on cut off the yarn which you no longer need.
I just realized I've been substituting the backwards loop cast on for the cable cast on in all the patterns that call for a cable cast on. When did I start doing this? And why? I do know both methods. Knitting is WEIRD.
I learnt the old Norwegian cast on/ german twisted cast on as the first cast on I knew without realising it is a stretchy cast on. I use both of these interchangeably on socks. 😊
I have a question I hope someone can answer or guide me in the right direction of. I got a pair of knee-high socks from someone in my extended family. It was a sweet story behind the socks (her mum, who is no longer with us, knitted them for her but she only got one of them for her bday, she decided to not say anything to her mum and 6 months later in the post, the second sock arrived without explanation.. 😂)
Anyway, the socks never fitted her so she gifted them to me, but I think her mum didn't use a stretchy cast on (I think they are knitted top-down) - can I do anything to make it stretchier? I do not want to reknit or anything as the socks have a lot of meaning and are beautifully knit otherwise.
There is nothing you can do to make it stretchier without removing the original cast-on stitches, putting the now live stitches on your needle(s), and then using a stretchy bind-off, If your socks were knitted from the top down, the cast-on stitches will not just ravel. You will have to pull them out stitch by stitch.
I went through this procedure with a pair of socks just recently, and it was definitely worth the trouble. I recommend JSSBO, the Italian bind-off, or the interlock bind-off. All three are very stretchy. The Italian and the interlock bind-offs are sewn bind-offs, so I guess they don't involve reknitting after all!
I understand that you really don't want to add your work to the "beautifully knit" socks that you now have. However, don't you think the lady who knitted them would be happy to see them being worn rather than lying unused in a dresser drawer?
@@voyager9028 thank you for your helpful suggestions! I will explore those bind offs you mentioned. ☺️
Waaaiit... with a long-tail cast-on your first row is always the wrong side row, so the slanted edge should always be at the front!! The purl bumps are the "wrong" side. (This came up recently at knit night when a fairly new beginner wasn't aware of right side/wrong side and was soon pointed in the "right" direction by the Swiss ladies who all had extremely strict craft teachers at school, in fact, one of the ladies IS a craft teacher - the Swiss take these things very seriously lol!!)
Of course, if you like the look you are free to do either, but strictly speaking...
correction: in FLAT knitting the first row after a long-tail cast-on is the wrong side; if you're knitting in the round, you're good to go...