Knitting tips
If you'd like to contribute, please email me at shiela@handknitter.co.uk
Casting on by the tail and thumb method
From: Louis
I use the tail and thumb method of casting on because it makes the neatest cast on edge I know of, but are you put off by the guessimation error of either the catastrophe of not having it long enough for the number of stitches required or ending up with an unnecessary length too much? If so try this: cast on 10 stitches then slide them off the needle and take hold of the tail up close to the stitch then pull on the working yarn being careful not to undo the last one then get as close to that one as you can and pull it undone in such a way that you can get hold of the yarn as close as possible to where it pops undone. Have a measuring device handy you will now know how much is required for however many tens you need.
Joining the cast on stitches for tube work
From: Louis
I have read of people saying how they either cast on one stitch more than is required then knitting two together or swapping stitches over to start tube work. However you might like to try the method I have developed which is to cast on however many stitches needed minus one then when I have transferred the first stitch against the last I take the working yarn one side of it and the tail the other and cast on the last stitch around it which makes a very neat join.
Closing up the toe of a sock
From: Louis
Are you like me and find the Kitchener stitch more trouble than it is worth? If so try my method: hold the two needles as though you are going to do the Kitchener stitch but then transfer the stitches alternatively from each needle onto a third needle and then knitting two stitches together at a time cast off. I find it much easier and less fraught for error and no more bulky. Those cast off stitches serve precisely the same function as the Kitchener - my toes cannot tell the difference and they are no less sensitive than other peoples.
