How To
Confident Knitting: Long-tail + German Twisted Cast-on
Arnall-Culliford Techniques Confident Knitting is back with a video demonstrating a cast-on combo for the stretchy-est ribbing: Long-tail + German Twisted.
You’ll want to add this technique to your toolkit—especially during holiday hat-knitting season.
Do the twist.
It’s a tiny, intuitive tweak. Go ahead and get needles and yarn out to try it along with Jen. (We did!)
Simply Stellar
This month’s dynamic design is by Gudrun Johnson.
The Stellar Hat
Jen likes Tvinni from the MDK Shop for this design. Fingering weight, cashmere-soft Tynd would make a super-special version too. You’ll find yardage numbers for the Stellar Hat here.
All three Year of Techniques titles are bundled into the Confident Knitting Library at a special price!
I’m an advanced knitter who first learned how more than 5 decades ago. I have managed to cast on countless numbers of projects not using the long tail method and will continue to not use it until my brain and fingers fail me. The obsession with mentioning cast ons is a mystery to me.
The type of cast on you use can make a big difference to how your final project looks or fits. There are very good technical and aesthetic reasons for the variety of cast ons available.
I have been using the German twisted cast on for socks and love it! Never thought about alternating with the long tail tho. Thanks Jen!
I am also an advanced knitter – over 70 years – and I do not often use the long-tail method but I do use several different cast-ons depending on what I am knitting and how flexible I need the CO to be. Thank you for this tutorial – one more CO to add to my repertoire..
German Twisted cast on is my go to method but I honestly don’t see any difference in the outcome of combining the two methods to cast on!
When I learned what Jen calls German Twisted cast-on it was called “Old Norwegian.” I believe they are the same. It’s the method used by my Norwegian grandmother (b. 1891).
love yr newsletter
I often use the German Twisted/Old Norwegian cast on; it’s one of my go-tos. I’m curious and not quite sure what advantage there is in combining it with the regular long-tail cast on when a combination of knits and purls will be worked off it. Especially when both the long tail and german twisted can be worked in pattern.
I had no idea. Thank you for this tip for a purl stitch cast on!
Talk about synchronicity! I was planning to cast on for a child’s hat today. I followed the video, but in K1 P1. It was thrilling to see that, yes, my foundation row was K1P1! At ground zero! I’m sure this will increase the stretchiness of the brim, making it more comfortable for a child to wear. I will be sure to save this post. Thank you MDK and Jen.
Talk about synchronicity! I had planned to cast on today for a child’s hat. I used this method, following Jen’s video, but in K1P1. I felt a thrill akin to the first time knitting the turning of a sock heel! My first round was already in K1P1! At ground zero. Thank you MDK and Jen. I will be sure to save this post.
I wrote this a second time, when the previous one did not appear. It was actually the third time, because the one I wrote this morning didn’t appear, either. Oh well.
Brilliant! Gave it a test after reading and watching, just beautiful synchrony of stitches. Love love love the ingenuity of knitters!
German Twisted Cast-On is one of the few knitting techniques I feel competent to do – plus its more fun. The only trouble is that once I have done it for awhile I forget how to do regular long-tail cast-on – and vice versa. (Wonder if I’m the only one.). Thanks for the handy-dandy refresher course, Jen!