Dear Lady, thank you SO much for this demonstration. I was struggling along with diagrams in a book, trying to knit my first toe up socks - plus being a left handed person who was taught to knit right handed - when I suddenly thought of RU-vid ! I am very grateful to you for this easy to understand film.
Thank you so much for inventing this method. It truly is magical. I know want to try making socks from the toe up. I learned to make them from the top down, but this cast on is so much easier than doing the kitchener stitch to close the toe at the end...
Thank you, Judy! I heard your cast-on method mentioned in a video by Elise Rose Crochet, so I went hunting on youtube. I initially found several videos by other content providers and watched them all, but was left feeling somewhat confused. Today I was delighted when your video happened to pop up in my feed, as if by "magic." After watching it, I have a much better grasp of what I'm doing and why it works. Nothing like getting it straight from the source! Your explanation was as clear as a bell, and I have a much better understanding now as to what to look for when it comes to knitting stitches off the needles for the first round. I'm new to knitting and oftentimes things seem much more confusing than they actually are, but your video was straight-forward and instructive and I feel confident that I can proceed with doing my first-ever Judy's Magic Cast-On. Thanks again!
This is the best video for JMCO! I like that you explain it does not matter which direction the yarn is wrapped because it is the next row of knitting those wrapped stitches that remounts the stitches! This stitch is your namesake .... well done!!!
Thank you again for your help and support. I think I know what to do but loose confidence and luckily you come to my rescue. Such a clever cast on and not just for socks but I made a cotton bag for carrying vegetables and used your cast on. Thanks again.
You have explained it so well that we can do it without having to repeat the video over and over again. This is the best Judy cast on tutorial! Thank you for sharing.
+Judy Becker i am not a regular knitter but have decided that my next project has to be socks I just love this tutorial i believe you have made a World Wide Public Service video as it seems many people refer back to this method (i have watched a lot of sock vids) It is simple and easy. Thank you so much for the time you took and continue to take answering peoples queries YOU ROCK ! XXX
Judy you are a fantastic teacher! I was so frustrated watching others cast on but the lady in my last video said she uses your method. I was like who is this Judy? I have to see her method! Big thank you!!
Wonderful video! Very detailed and easy to understand. You went through each part so that I could understand what was going. I have never been able to 'get" this before. First time that I have actually understood it! Thank you Thank you Thank you so so much Judy Becker! Five stars! Thank you for sharing!
Judy, you are so awesome. I've knit a couple of pairs of socks using your magic cast-on method. I love how easy and (as healingone stated) intuitive this is. Thank you so very much for sharing this method. You rock!!
Terrific video! I've been using your technique for some time but had never seen your video. I like your point about not worrying which direction you wrap the yarn and about the fact that the cast-on includes the first knit row. After you pulled the needle out to show that, you could have just put those loops back on the needle rather than starting over. Anyway, the video is very clear , and I love it that there's no background noise (including music) or other distractions.
Thanks for this - I'm doing my first pair of toe-up socks and all the other methods I've found involve provisional cast ons and crochet and a bunch of other things I don't want to do. This is truly magic - you just put on the stitches, knit and there's no more to do!
Judy; thank you!!! Not only was this fun to watch, but it was clear, slow, and easy to understand. I am thrilled by this cast on and it's easyness compared to some of the other cast ons I have been learning as I try to start knitting toe up magic loop socks!!! And not only did I love this, but I now know I have been doing things right when I knit some of my stitches from the back; really appreciated your showing how the "leading edge" of a stitch can be in the back or front. It has been intuitive for me until now, but now I understand why I have been doing it!! Thanks , thanks!!
I learned more from your very own description and I have all the other videos that I have watched except for whirlybird and Nettie Nettie and also my very best favorite VeryPink Knits,Stacey because she had her slow motion cast on which was very helpful yours was very slow as well thank you so much Judy. Now if I can just find a pattern that I can understand easily
Hello there, I just wanted to Thank you for making it so easy to do Judy's Magic Cast on. I have learnt so much today thanks to you. Thank you again. Marie Hansen
The best video on this technique! Very clear and easy to follow. Really like this demonstrations using the two different needles and the variegated colored yarn, again this added to the clarity of this instructional video. I keep this in my library and refer to it often. Thank you thank you for this “magic cast on” Judy!!!
Thank you so much for your great tutorial on Judy's Magic Cast on. I am a beginner for stitching and this was so clear and easy to understand. I like that you take it slow and also that you repeat some of the instructions. Now I will start off my second pair of toe-up footies :) Have a nice day!
Magic Indeed! I am so excited to have found this cast-on. I have always used waste yarn for my provisional cast-on, but as I've gotten older, have had trouble picking up the stitches from the waste yarn when using small needles and fine yarn due to difficulty seeing the tiny stitches, but now they're already on the needle and ready to go! Awesome!
You can go many places! JMCO started as an invisible cast-on for toe-up socks. But it's a provisional cast-on and can be substituted anywhere that you need one. My book, "Beyond Toes: Knitting Adventures with Judy's Magic Cast-On," showcases 6 different ways that JMCO can be used, and has 23 patterns to try those techniques.
Thank you so much for this video! I’ve never knitted toe-up socks before and my pattern didn’t explain how to cast on, so I’ve watched several videos but yours was the only one which made sense and was easy to follow, so thank you :)
Very nice instructional video! Thank you for taking the time and providing this! I am about to try my first pair of socks, and I will use your cast on.
Sorry. I did see you were using 2 different needles. Obviously, I didn't phrase my question very well, but you answered it: JMCO will work well with magic loop. Good to have that confirmed. Thanks!
Thank you Roxanne for showing me the way! I've watched other videos but they go too fast for me, a complete novice. Your explanation and demonstration was perfect 🥰 x
Holy Socks Batman! I did it! Thank you so much for your video I usually use a Turkish cast on for toe up socks; finally got the hang of your truly magic cast on. :D
JMCO was invented as a cast-on for toe-up socks. But many patterns start with a provisional cast-on or a closed circle. Ravelry is an excellent place to look at patterns that use different techniques.
Very helpful. I almost had it nailed from the Cast On Bind Off book instructions, but was missing one step (how to hold the tail for first knitted stitch). This sealed the deal! Thank you!
I have to say, this is the best video for judy's magic cast on I've seen. I probably feel that way, as I've been trying to get the hang of this from other vid's, and this is the one that did it for me! So many thanx!
That's probably because this is Judy herself explaining her own Magic Cast-on. :) It's usually best when one is trying to learn something new to go straight to the source.
Judy - such a wonderful relaxed tutorial thank you. You have demystified this for me. I have driven myself crazy trying to learn it from a book. ♥️♥️♥️🥰
There is honestly no tech guru in this world who matches up to the skill and genius of knitters coming up with simpler, better, cleaner ways to do things. Steve Jobs and Elon Musk combined can't match the level of ingenuity!! Knitters have been out here for centuries mutzing around with waste yarn, short rows, kitchener stitches, provisional this and that, and Judy Becker just sees another way. Truly ingenious and extremely well explained! (This is the first thing I've ever attempted with the magic loop method and I still got it on the first try.)
Thanks so much for this video! It's incredibly helpful! I'm having difficulty understanding a slipper pattern that says "You are now working flat, back and forth. TURN work instead of continuing in the round. The wrong side (WS) is the inside of the slipper facing out, and the right side (RS) is the outside of the slipper facing in. Row 1 (WS): First needle: Very loosely (as this edge needs to stretch) P1, K to end of first needle. On the second needle: K to last st, P1. TURN Row 2 (RS): First needle: Loosely K1, K2tog, K to last 3 sts on the first needle, SSK, K1. On the second needle: K1, K2tog, K to last 3 sts, SSK, K1. TURN 4 sts decreased." I understand how to just work one needle but not how to work them individually without the yarn connecting them (which to my understanding it working in the round). Any tips? Do I need to just work one needle at a time? I'm totally lost and my searches for help are coming up with nothing. Thanks again for your awesome video!
This is one of the few times I have learned anything from a video, I usually do better with written information. Thank you so much for clear and unfussy instructions. Your voice is more pleasant to listen to than most on videos. Thanks for that also. I'll practice the cast on for a while, then tackle the knitting part.
There will always be a 1/2-stitch jog between the two portions of your ribbing if you knit ribbing going both directions from a provisional cast-on. I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve. If there is a central part that is ribbed with non-ribbed fabric to either side, plan the cast-on so that it falls at one edge of the ribbing. That way you will only be ribbing in one direction and you will avoid the 1/2-stitch jog. If your ribbing will be at the edge, it's possible to use JMCO as a tubular cast-on. Lorilee Beltman has a great video on this technique here: Tubular Cast on Using Judy's Magic Cast on, from Lorilee. She uses it to start 1x1 ribbing. For 2x2 ribbing, knit an extra round before joining and starting the ribbing. Hope this helps!
Great video Judy. Is there a video on how to knit the stitches from the other direction? I want to have 2 x 2 ribbing going up (where you are knitting) and then going down from the provisional stitches. Do you have any tips for the join to look clean?
I am using Judy's Magic Cast on for a small knitted bear done as double knitting on 2 straight needles. So far I have been starting in the usual way on 2 circulars, and after a few rows, transferring the stitches one by one to a straight needle to continue the double knitting a tube in one main color. Any suggestions for how to do the cast on directly to the straight needle without the need to transfer?
One row I was knitting with the tail yarn piece. hehehe. Seems I remember you telling about this but was long enough ago that I didn't remember in that instance. So I knitted with that to get to the other end.
The paper book is available for sale only in the US and Canada. In the UK, it's available as an ebook via Apple's iBookstore. The ISBN for the print book is 978-0-9844619-0-5. The ISBN for the ebook is 978-0-9844619-1-2.
Lorna's Laces Bullfrogs & Butterflies in a colorway called "The Cat's Aha" that was developed for Cat Bordhi. I'm not sure if it's still available or not. I've had that skein for a couple of years.
I am not responsible for the captions. RU-vid uses an experimental voice-recognition system to add the captions. Obviously it doesn't understand "knitter" very well. Or at all, actually.
I wanted to use two different colored needles so that it was easier to see what the needles and yarn were doing. The needles are a slightly different size. In most applications, you would want your needles to be the same size.
you're video is amazing! Thank you! I am a crocheters (22 years) and trying to turn knitter. I have made tons of washcloths to practice stitches. I just downloaded the beekeepers quilt by Tiny Owl Knits. I have mastered to cast on but the pattern asks to move the stitches to 2 other DPN's. it's so cumbersome and frustrating for me. Any tips? help. ☺ Thank you!
Sort of, except since I am using two circular needles, it's not technically magic loop. It would be magic loop if I were using one circular needle, and that does work very well with JMCO. But don't get the two techniques confused as they are very different.
The yarn color is soooo beautiful :O And btw this Judy's Magic Cast On is great, you're really amazing! But it looks a little bit complicated for me, I am a beginner so I think I should stick with the normal way of casting on first. Thanks for sharing tho!
I am having a hard time AFTER the cast on. Once I move to the pattern, it seems I am just making a flat piece with a needle at each end instead of a tube. Any idea what I am doing wrong? Thanks! Loved the video very clear instructions!
Hi Judy and thank you for this wonderful tutorial. I am returning to knitting after a 30 year hiatus, so I hope this isn't a dumb question. Where do you go with that bit of knitting after you've knit it?
