Spud says (the blog)

Long Tail Cast On

Hi Spud & Chloë Friends,

In my quest to get as many people knitting as I possibly can and to get more kids knitting, I have shot a few basic knitting video tutorials that I want to start sharing with you. I have been asked a bunch of times to share how I cast on and how I knit and how I purl. I taught myself to knit as a teenager so sometimes I do things a little unconventionally but it all works the same in the end.

I have to admit that in reality I cast on in a kind of funky way but for the video I showed a more traditional method. Maybe later I’ll show how I actually cast on. You may get a kick out of that. I still need to shoot a binding off video, too. Even if you already know how to do all of these initial knitting steps sometimes it is fun to see how someone else does a certain skill. I always learn new things when I watch someone else do just about anything.

Anyway, here is a short video of the long tail cast on and I also share a couple of funny tricks that I use along the way.

Enjoy!

Filed under: How To, Tutorials |

6 Responses to “Long Tail Cast On”

  1. September 3, 2009 at 9:29 am Jyme Parish says:

    Thanks!! I have used the long tail cast on. I pull one strand from the inside and one strand from the outside of the ball of yarn. Is there a reason I should not cast on this way? I am a “retro knitting newbie”! ( meaning I learned 30 years ago and have returned to the art) Great teaching video!!

  2. September 3, 2009 at 11:54 am paws says:

    Thanks, Susan! I shouldn’t have been surprised by the fact that teaching someone how to knit is a separate skill from being able to knit yourself. I found that out the hard way, so I’m excited to learn how to teach knitting from you.

  3. September 4, 2009 at 7:19 pm Josey Harvey says:

    Thanks for your video. I have been knitting since I can remember and always love to watch how other knitters knit. I would like to see how you cast on when noone is watching. I have a very strange looking method that comes out just like the long-tail but I have never seen anyone else do it and I am sure I must have learned it 30 or 40 years ago.

  4. September 22, 2009 at 9:49 pm Renee says:

    Thank you SO much for this! i’d never even HEARD of this (can you tell Im still new?) and one I did it it’s so easy! I love it! THANK YOU!!!

  5. October 11, 2009 at 10:37 am Janey says:

    Many thanks for the tutorial!
    I have used the “thumb method” of casting on for about 40 years – a generational preference stemming AT LEAST from my grandmother.

    Whenever I’ve heard “long-tail cast on: I’ve always rationalized it to be the same as the thumb method, but I now see that it very different. Same result – but a different process.

    Thank you again,
    Janey

  6. December 21, 2009 at 6:43 pm Pam says:

    I met you at Loops in Tulsa and you mentioned your tutorials….how very helpful. Thanks so much! I am inspired!