I guess some people would consider it strange to use a picture of a cocktail to launch a post about learning a new cast-on. I guess I’m a little funny that way. This weekend coming up, we’ll have the family with us to celebrate Aunt Pat’s birthday (I won’t tell which one) so I’m surfing about the web looking for a very special birthday cake recipe. Luckily, my cursor lit upon Bake Noir! If you haven’t visited Monika’s beautiful blog, you should!
Now for the knitting. On Sunday afternoon, after breakfast, I was able to lay out the Timberline pattern, dig up all the required needles and accessories and, with a nice blank chunk of time available, cast on. As I read through the pattern, highlighting Carl’s size, I knew I was about to learn something.
Timberline calls for a tubular cast-on, something I’d read about but never tried. What a revelation! This technique produces such a beautifully finished, super-stretchy edge that I can tell you, it will revolutionize my sock knitting. I’ve done some casting about the internet (pun intended) to seek out some tutorials on the subject.
The Timberline pattern calls for a provisional cast on to start, as does this KnitPicks tutorial. Knitting Daily’s Eunny Jang presents a slightly simpler version. All of these are excellent, but both the KnitPicks and Knitting Daily tutes say they pertain to 1×1 ribbing. Jared Flood’s method includes a “Rearrangement Row” where the stitches are juggled to permit knitting 2×2 ribbing. It’s achieved this way:
*Slip 1 onto CN and hold in back, sl 1; sl 1 from CN to R needle, sl 2;* repeat.
Huzzah! Your stitches are reorganized into a 2×2 configuration and your working yarn is in your right hand ready to knit the next row. It’s a fresh new way to start!
