Thank you Roxanne. I have started knitting socks for a while and always do cuff down because I'm scared of starting the cast on for toe up socks. I tried it once when I was first learning knitting socks, the pattern used Judy's magic cast on but I found it difficult to remember so I have been avoiding toe up socks since. Your clear and precise tutorial again has taught me a new skill and I'm not afraid of toe up socks anymore. I have saved up so many toe up patterns and i can't wait to finish my current pair to start the next one!
I wish all instructors would emulate your style of teaching. Sentence structure IS vital and leaving out extraneous verbage is crucial to the student "getting" what is necessary. By the way ... your voice is excellent also. Now on to knitting socks toe up! Thank you.
Thanks for this Roxy. It is so, so sensible and logically addresses my issues here! I'm off on holiday tomorrow with a pair of socks to knit and I'm now confident I will achieve a sensible top edge!
I use the Turkish cast on for my toe-up socks and I use double point needles. I have done it with a circular but then switch to the dpn's, so I just kept practicing with the dpn's until I had it down. I also only use 3 needles to start my sock, the two holding the stitches and a third to work with. I change to 4 when I get past the toe and start working on the foot. I enjoyed your video very much.
I recently found your channel. I’ve been knitting for almost a year and it has become my passion. You are such a great teacher. I can’t find a lot of why we do something, more how-to. You are a treasure trove of knowledge and have such a lovely personality. Thank you for sharing it!
I've not ever seen a provisional cast on, however I've heard the term. Now that I'm getting into sock knitting I've been binge-watching your videos. You have a great instructional style that I find easy to follow. Thank you for your videos I'm working on custom-fitting knitted socks today.
Hi Roxanne! 😃 Very nice instruction. Thank you! Turkish cast on can be done with dpns (3), if someone prefers. Think of it almost exactly like cabled needles (set up wise) and when you finish each side be mindful to rotate clockwise (like you explain) and then when toe is finished you would knit as usual with the four dpns to continue in the round. Hope that made sense. ☺️ Thanks again for all of your videos. When I want to know the why and/or more details of a subject, I come to your channel. You help me be a better knitter. 🥰
Thank you so much - Although I learned this cast on a number of years ago, I found myself unable to remember exactly how to do it correctly - I re watched my original video but still came out a mess. Your careful noting of each step helped me to identify my misstep- I was pulling the bottom needle out wrongly , and that made all the difference. I’m off to knit the socks. I use primarily 10 inch circulars now , and use a 12 inch for the cast on - it works okay .- I’ll add a 10 inch after the first 2 sides and do 2 circulars until the increases are done and I can just use the 10 inch it is so quick and easy, no ladders and just round and round.
If I KNOW I need to knit both sides of whatever, I could begin in the middle of the ball of yarn and simply switch to the other side when needed. This is a really neat cast on. Thanks for showing it so slowly.
Thank you! I've been trying and utterly failing to work JMCO, several attempts with several instructors and just can't "get" it...but this Turkish CO looks so much simpler and your clear teaching method makes it look easy. 1st pair toe ups will be next on the needles!
I spent a whole day in utter frustration trying to learn JMCO for my first sock! Tried your method of Turkish cast on and had it done in 10 minutes! Thankyou so much for a brilliant video Roxanne
I have a set of the ChiaoGoo Red Lace Shorties for socks and I got some additional tips. I am not fond of DPNs but I can make longer cable Flexi-Flips which I enjoy because gussets fit my higher than average instep best. For then some of the project I can work on a 10' circular and when I turn the heel, I do that with the 8" cable. When I do toe-up, I use the 3 short circulars as described: cables are 5", 6" and 8". I did get the 2" set of three thinking I could make Flexi-Flips but found the needles too small to keep a grip on. Flexi-Flips or 2 or 3 circulars work well and I agree, the Turkish cast on is great, and the stitches going in the other direction when I pick them up if using as a Provisional Caston work the best of any PCO I've tried. Thank you for another great video.
Your tutorial are the most detailed and informative. You explain the technique so well and they are easy to understand. Also you use colors that and needle sizes that are easy to see. Thank you. I am a better knitter having watched you knit
Oh man this case on is going to change my sock game, I've been using a crocheted provisional cast on and it's always such a pain to pick up the stitches and remove the waste yarn. Thank you!
I like the Turkish cast on, easy to do and looks good. I do use two circular needles, but I am use to them, knit all my socks with two circular needles. I like the way you can keep them close together and I don’t have the problem of laddering on the sides.
There are so many variations on how this cast on can be done and how it can be used! ML, two circs, as a PCO, as a closed CO (and either way, worked flat or in the round). It's a great cast on. :-)
Thanks so much! I have been avoiding toe up socks because I found the cast on so fiddly. This looks soooo much easier, so, Im going to cast on a pair today!
What I do is use my interchangeable needles. After casting on, I disconnect the tips from the cable and attach them to another one. Then I continue knitting and the stitches stay on the cable. If you are afraid of the stitches coming loose, you can attach the plastic end caps. When you are done with the main knitting, reattach the tips to the cable holding the stitches and knit in the opposite direction.
I am wondering if the three castons that you are covering are interchangable; in other words if a pattern says to use Judy’s Magic Caston can you use the Turkish or Figure 8 cast on? Or is it just a matter of preference of the knitter? The Turkish cast on seems pretty easy (to me) so I am wondering why one would choose one of the others?
In most cases, they will be interchangeable. JMCO has a couple of characteristics the others don't have, that can sometimes be an issue when making a substitution (usually the issue is with JMCO, rather than the other way around). It really depends on what you're using it for, and what the stitch pattern is. I'll be discussing those characteristics in the JMCO video. If I had to rank the three CO, I'd put Turkish first, with JMCO second, and figure-8 last.
Could you send me a link of a sock pattern using the turkish cast on that is good for making socks for the first time? I have knit with circular needles making hats, and cabled stitches. I really like your videos! Thanks so much.
Roxanne that Turkish cast on is easy. Why wouldn’t everyone use it? I’ve been using Judy’s magic CO. Looking for the prettiest cast on and increase method. I’ve been using make 1 rather the front/back increases. Interested in hearing or reading your preferences, knowing it isn’t a right/wrong issue.
I use different increases in different situations. Sometimes I will try one and decide I don't like the look, or I will switch how I mirror them. It all depends on the project.
This is so much faster than the figure 8 (jmco) cast on. And the tail won't be quite as long as the jmco. Its not as tight as I expected but its much nicer than the other. I think i will enjoy knitting toe up socks again.
Is the last stitch of the first round using this cast on mounted in the non-standard way? And are we supposed to knit it normally, thereby twisting it, or through the back loop?
Roxanne, I found it interesting that you indicate the slip knot should be pulled out so you don't accidentally work it. Is that whet you generally practice? i.e. you don't count the slip knot as a stitch? I always have (but I'm mostly self-taught and didn't know this.) I'd be interested in knowing why, because I feel like I have 50 items that were all done incorrectly!
Oh, I'm sure lots of people use the slip knot as a stitch. I try to never have knots in my knitting, even slip knots, so I typically cast on so as to avoid them, and when I do have to use them, I find a way to eliminate them later. There are always multiple ways of getting to the same end point, so assuming you counted the slip knot as a stitch while you cast on, you did nothing "wrong." If you use a slip knot, and then cast on the number of sts you need *in addition* to the slip knot, and then *worked* the slip knot, you'd have worked too many sts, and then you would have a problem. Otherwise, if you end up with the right number of sts, and you're happy with the result, you're fine. You might want to try the method I showed, just to see if you like the result better. You get to decide which is the right way for you and your projects.
The cast on method creates two sets of stitches that are worked in opposite directions. It can either be used as a closed cast on or a provisional CO. If you use it as a provisional CO that you also want to work in the round, by joining the sts of one half, then you'd work across one needle and join those sts in the round. For example, if you want to knit a hat with 100 sts, using a PCO, so that you can work the ribbing or hem later on, you'd CO 200 sts (100 loops on each needle). You'd work across the 100 sts on the first needle, and join in the round. That is, after you worked st 100, you'd work as you do for knittin gin the round, and work stitch #1. The other 100 sts would remain on the other needle (acting as a stitch holder) untill you were done with the body of the hat. You would then return to the sts sitting on the other needle, join the yarn and work the ribbing/brim/hem/whatever.
I love your video tutorials so much! Thank you!!! I just have a thought. Working this same cast on, provisional or closed would be the same basic technique with two circulars. Correct? I am excited to try something new. :D
I commented on your JMCO video about starting the Embruns Cardigan with a PCO method that lines up my k3, p1 to perfection. I am wondering if I need to knit the first round or if I start off right away in pattern. Been at it all day and questioning if it’s even possible to line up the sts exactly or if they will always end up 1/2 st off...
It isn't possible to start from opposite directions and maintain the pattern. There will always be a 1/2-stitch offset. If you think of the sts as shaped like this \/\/\/\/\/ on the front side of stockinette, then on the back side, you will see rows of offset bumps. The Vs are the legs of the sts. Where the legs are wide, a strand connects them in the back. This strand is the head of the stitch. At the base, a strand connects one V to its neighbor. These are the running threads. If you turn that set of sts upside down they look like this /\/\/\/\/\ Now it looks like 4 sts with 1/2 st to the right and 1/2 st to the left. What looks like the heads of the sts in this orientation is the running threads when viewed from the other orientation. It's the "heads" of sts that sit on the needle and that you are knitting. In stockinette, you only notice the offset at the edge, because the Vs look the same if you look at them right side up or upside down. Ribbing is going to show the offset every time you change from knits to purls or purls to knits \/\/\/-\/\/\/- will look like /\/\/\-/\/\/\-. Ribbing can be *grafted* in pattern, but only if you are grafting the two ends (CO and BO) of a single strip of fabric together. The direction of the knitting will be the same for both edges ==>|==> unlike when you are grafting the BO ends of two separate pieces, which are both knit toward the graft ==>|
I''d LOVE to know what brand cable that is!! I battle the cables I have and can't seem to get them (have used hair dryer!) to relax and lay as nicely as yours does. thanks for a wonderful video.
There are lots of brands these days that have nice flexible cables The ones shown here are Signature Needle Arts needles. They are on the expensive end of the spectrum. Knit Picks needles, on the other end of the price spectrum, are not *quite* as flexible, but certainly flexible enough. Other brands that have nice cables are Addi Lace and Addi Rockets, and Chiao Goo, as well. The needles that seem to have the least flexible cables are bamboo, although I have heard that there are at least some companies that are now selling bamboo needles with more flexible cables. I rarely use bamboo, so I can't help you narrow things down there, but this is a constant source of discussion on Ravelry in the Needles and Tools forum, so you might have good luck there, if that's what you need.
LynnAnn Thomas Have you tried knit picks, addi clicks or chiao goo needles? I tried all 3 and all are good with diff price points. Just a matter of preference. Cords are very flexible
I'm so "invested" in two sets of KP's that i can't afford to try any other sets right now. I do have several of the brands you mentioned in fixed circs of various sizes. I'm so disappointed with the KP's cables and joins.
I imagine it could be used in any top-down mitten pattern that calls for a closed cast on. In most cases, the various methods of closed cast-ons are interchangeable. Not all top-down mitten patterns will call for a closed cast on. Some might call for a pinhole CO, instead.
I'm not sure I understand your question. Is your plan to use German short rows immediately after casting on? Like for a sock toe? Are you using a pattern that calls for a different closed cast on? Does it have you begin short row shaping on the very first row? If so, then for the Turkish CO, I would purl across the sts of one needle, turn, and then begin the short rows, assuming you are to start with a RS row.
Great, clear instructions as always, thanks. However I think I must be doing something wrong. Normally my rows of knitting are even with no 'rowing out'. I thought this cast on would be brilliant for shetland lace, leaving stitches on cable with stoppers, to both add weight and make adding borders easy. So far I have tried turkish cast on flat with both garter and stockinette, but the cast on is always really obvious with 'rowing out'. When I attempted it in the round, this meant the row where the sock toe folds in half was really stretched and thin compared to the rest of my knitting. Any idea as to what I am doing wrong ?
There are a couple of things you could try. One is to use a smaller lower needle (1 or 2 sizes smaller), which will make the loops around the needles smaller, and provide less slack as you work across the second needle. I do something a bit different, which is that as I work across the first needle, I allow my working needle to pull out any accumulated slack (similar to how working across backwards loops can cause slack to accumulate between the sts). When I get across the first needle, that excess slack is trapped between the last st worked, and the slip knot. Let the slip knot come off the needle, and that slack vanishes. You can then work across the second needle. Those sts are smaller/tighter, because you've eliminated the excess slack.
I tried the removing slack version using garter stitch flat method. It made sense as soon as I read it, and I saw the slack in front of the slip knot, so disappeared along with it. It meant I had no struggle getting stitches back on to needle when working other direction and when cast off, you could not tell back from front or where the cast on row was, and that was without any blocking. Very pleased. I like the PCC with lifeline you showed us, but am always scared that inserting the cable along the lifeline could break the delicate cobweb , Shetland Supreme yarn. I don't like the figure 8 using one needle, one cable cast on , so this way ,removing the extra slack , may be slower but well worth the advantage. Thanks !
