Techniques

Provisional cast-ons

IMHO the secret to provisional cast-ons is finding one that actually makes sense to you. They don’t need to be tricky, fiddly, confusing or infuriating.

Here’s a list of online tutorials for different techniques. I’ll be honest, I prefer those techniques that don’t mess with waste yarn. I think it’s incredibly nifty to have those stitches ready to knit when you need them, as opposed to trying to figure out where to pick them loose from, say, a crocheted provisional cast on. I don’t mind having an extra set of circular needles dangling (or at a larger gauge, a circular cord with the caps), especially for the few rows of stockinette that this particular pattern requires. (But then, I think knitting on 2 circulars is perfectly fine.)

Cast-ons specifically shown an extra circular cord/ needle:

Cast-ons involving waste yarn (most are easily adaptable to using the circular cord/needle)

www.eunnyjang.com
Knitty
www.knittinghelp.com 2nd from bottom
www.knittingdaily.com/glossary/invisible-provisional-cast-on.aspx
www.knitandtonic.net
knittersblog.com/

Other cast-ons:

Cabling without a Cable Needle

Knitty Scroll down – there’s a section at the end that illustrates this technique.

Sewn Hems

blog.designedlykristi.com has a lovely comparison of different techniques. I chose to do the same technique as what she used in Swatch 4, going for the least amount of bulk.

Direct link to Google search: Google=

Other picot links

lollygirl.com has a wonderful summary of links in this post if you choose to not do the provisional cast on.

Calculating row gauge and using that for your toe:

Using the sole as your ‘swatch’, measure how many rows you get in either 1 or 2 inches (the latter will be more accurate).

If you used 1”, that is your row gauge: ___________ rows/inch

If you used 2”, divide by 2: ____________rows/inch

For the toe, as written, you will be decreasing from 48 to 18 stitches (48-16=32 stitches decreased). 4 stitches are decreased per decrease round. Each decrease round occurs every other round….which averages to 2 stitches decreased per round (4 stitches per 2 rounds = 2 stitches decreased per round). 32 decreases divided by 2 decreases per row gives you 16 rows of knitting for the toe.

Divide 16 rows by your row gauge. For example, if your row gauge is 10 rows/inch, knitting those 16 rounds should give you 1.6” of knitting. Thus, you should start your toe decreases when you have reached a length 1.6” less than what you want your total length should be.

If you’re not there yet, continue knitting in stockinette til you get to that point….based, of course, on your row gauge.

Lifted increases: My absolute favorite (and thus my default) method of increasing