I’m heavy into socks right now. I guess I’m always heavy into socks. I can’t remember a time in my knitting history when I didn’t have at least one pair on the needles. Socks make excellent “palate cleanser” projects; they make the perfect bite between large projects like sweaters or shawls.
I’m mostly a top-down sock knitter, although I’ve knit them toe-up too. For this reason, I’m always “casting about” (pardon the pun) for the perfect, stretchy cast on method for top-down socks. In fact it’s safe to say that the cast-on in all its various incarnations, is one of my favorite things about knitting. Here are a couple of my favorite fun and functional stretchy cast on methods.
The Slip Knot: I started using this one (also known as Jeny’s Super Stretchy Cast On) while doing a long pair of socks with a turned back cuff. Here’s a video tutorial brought to you by New Stitch A Day.
The German Twisted: I love this because it is so very FAST and related to my go-to favorite, the long-tail cast on.
The Chinese Waitress: Gotta love Liat Gatt from KnitFreedom! This is an ingenious method that produces a really pretty chained edge.
The Alternating Cable: I’ve never found the cable cast on to be especially stretchy, though it does produce a very handsome beaded edge. Done this way, by alternately casting on knit and purl stitches, a super stretchy edge that is indistinguishable from the ribbing itself, is produced! Clever! (I love this video because the girl has the most pleasant Australian accent! 🙂
Nicky
Thanks so much for the video links — very helpful to a sock wannabe knitter like me.