Knitting Tutorial: The Cable Cast-On

The Cable Cast-On is a simple yet beautifully structured and stretchy cast-on with a very neat edge. It’s a knitted style cast-on so you’ll never have the problem of underestimating the length of the yarn tail you use for other cast-ons, which is something we always struggle with! It’s great to use for the additional underarm stitches on sweaters, or the tidy brim of a bottom-up hat, and it’s the foundation of the Fala Cast-On, a decorative edge designed for Maia Discoe’s beautiful Fala Shawl (the pattern and kits for which are available in our web shop). Check out our simple Cable Cast-On tutorial below!

The Cable Cast-On:

First, make a slipknot with a 6-8 inch tail and place it on the left needle:

slipknot

Then knit into the slipknot without removing it from the left needle:

the first stitch

Place the new loop on the left needle; there should now be 2 stitches. All subsequent stitches of the cast-on will be created by putting the working (right) needle between the two most recent stitches on the left needle:

going between the stitches

And pulling a loop through, then placing it on the left needle:

third stitch

And that’s it! Continue in this manner until you have the number of stitches you need. Begin knitting as normal; you are ready to start a Right Side row!