CASTING ON WITH THE ANSWER LADY© 2007 Kathryn Doubrley http://www.theanswerlady.com Some things are MUCH easier to learn if you can see them demonstrated. With that in mind, The Answer Lady has created some video clips of cast on techniques. The written instructions for each kind of cast on are below and are free. You may print them and use them in club meetings as long as you leave the copyright info attached. If you'd like to see these actions performed, the video clips are $1 each and will be delivered as instant downloads. They can be played with Windows Media Player which almost certainly came with your computer. Each movie is about 1 minute long. The Answer Lady is not a cinematographer. There is no sound and no special effects. You'll want to read the instructions below to accompany the images in the vidoes. But these clips should help you understand the operations. The resolution is crystal clear at the size presented but you can enlarge it to the full screen option if you wish. Doing so will make what you see granier but just about life sized. Remember that the camera is above the needles so you are looking down on the operation. The cast ons are all demonstrated on a hobby machine. This is becase the plastic bed makes it easier to photograph the action without glare. All machines can be cast on with these techniques, even Passaps. Passap knitters must simply get their needles back to working position before knitting with the locks. The double and triple e-wraps do so automatically. Notes for Passap knitters are included in the basic e-wrap and chain stitch instructions below. NOTES ABOUT DOWNLOADING THE VIDEO CLIPS: When you click the button and pay with paypal, the Payloadz system will send you a download link, just as it does with the pdf patterns also sold on this site. Click the download link to download the video and save the file to your computer or a disc. Windows Media Player should load automatically whenever you select the file for viewing. You can click on it and view it again any time you need a memory refresher. Because they are little movies, the files are larger than pdf pattern files and take longer to download. Your Media player may come on and say “loading” for long enough to make you nervous but it is not kidding—the file is really getting there. The Basic E-wrap is so named because the motion made with the hand holding the yarn is just like that made when writing the cursive letter “E”. All needles to be cast on should be pulled all the way forward. This may be called D or E position, depending on your machine. Begin with a loop knotted in the end of the working yarn. Hang this loop on the left-most needle. Make the letter e with the yarn around each needle shank. The motion is a counter-clockwise circle going first under the next needle, then over it, then under it one more time so that the shank is enclosed in a loop of yarn. Do this loosely, holding the wrapped yarn in place with your free thumb as the next wrap is made. Most machines will knit the e-wrapped needles back if you set the machine to do so. Therefore, you should begin with the carriage on the right and e-wrap from left to right, then knit the first row with the carriage. In the case of hobby machines such as the one shown, not all will knit back from “hold”. In this case, use a pointed tool to open all the latches. Now work back down the wrapped needles, placing the working yarn in each open hook and manually pulling a stitch through. Be sure that all have formed complete stitches. Now hang the comb, weights or weighted hem as needed for your machine and knit. Passap knitters, you can use the e-wrap if you knit the first row back manually. Start by pulling the yarn you need through the eyelet so that you'll be ready to knit when finished. To buy the basic e-wrap video, click here:  The Double E-wrap is made with the same motion as the basic e-wrap but goes under TWO needles each time. Begin with the carriage on the right. Again, all needles to be cast on are fully extended. Begin with a loop on the left most-needle. Pass the yarn under the next needle shank, then over it, enclosing the 2nd needle in a loop of yarn. Now lay the yarn in the open hook of needle one and manually knit a stitch through. Carry the yarn under needles 2 and 3, over them both, lay the yarn in the hook of needle 2 and knit a stitch. Carry the yarn under 3 and 4, knit a stitch on needle 2 and so on across the bed. Now hang comb and weights if needed and knit. The double e-wrap adds a little more definition to the lower edge of the knitting than does the basic e-wrap. It is useful for yarns that are difficult to knit (fuzzy, slubb, etc.) because the inititial wrap gets down out of the way of the carriage and you can get a good grip with the comb right away. To buy the video double e-wrap click here: The triple e-wrap is just like the double but after hanging the loop on needle 1, pass under needles 2 and 3 before knitting off needle 1. Now pass under 3 and 4 and knit off needle 2. Three needles are involved in every wrap, thus it's a triple e-wrap. At the end of the row of needles, knit a stitch on each one though no new needles will be wrapped. As you can see on the video, it may be necessary to close the latches on the needles manually. The looseness of the yarn on a triple wrap may mean that there is not enough yarn pressure to close the latch automatically as you pull the needle back. The triple e-wrap is used only where extra flexibility is needed at the lower edge of the knitting. For example, if knitting tuck stitch, the body of the work will expand width-wise. A stretchy cast-on can allow the fabric to assume its proper shape even at the lower edge. To buy the triple e-wrap video click here. The chain stitch cast on is worked with the latch tool. It is truly a crocheted chain. It can begin on either side of the needle bed but should always be opposite the carriage. The chain stitch cast on will closely resemble The latch tool bind off around the gate pegs or transfer method of bind off. Therefore if making something such as a scarf where both ends may show, this is a good choice so that the cast on and bound off ends look alike. This cast on is a little more stable and less stretch than e-wrapping and is very good looking. Work from under or over the needles, whichever is easiest for you, and begin opposite the carriage. With needles to be cast on fully extended, hang a knotted loop on the latch tool. Wrap the yarn around needle 1 and pull it through the loop on the tool. Yarn is moving across the top of the needles, hand is beneath the needles and tool is reaching up to grab the yarn so as to make a link in the chain that surrounds the needle shank. Move to the next needle, passing the yarn over it (or under if your hand is on the top) reach with the latch tool and pull the working yarn through the stitch now on the tool, making the 2nd stitch in the chain. Continue chaining to the last needle. You may either hang the last loop on the last needle or chain around it and THEN hand the last loop. Doing so will mean that the final needle has 2 loops. Use whichever method you find knits back best for you. Video shows the tool being operated from beneath the needles so as not to block the camera. Passap knitters and hobby machine knitters: if you want to use this cast on, start on the SAME side with the locks/carriage. Work away from the locks, chaining on, then manually knit the first row of stitches back towards the locks. To buy the chain stitch video click here:  |