How To
Confident Knitting: I-cord Cast-off
Dear knitters,
As you may have read on their blog, AC Techniques will be on an extended hiatus in the coming months. While this will be the last project tutorial from Jen for now, we will remain in touch with our dear friends. And we will continue to enjoy and learn from their body of work on video and in books. We look forward to their next chapter with love and optimism.
—Ann and Kay
Welcome to another Confident Knitting double header and the final installment of this brilliant year-long series from AC Techniques!
The i-cord cast-off is a clever, but simple-to-execute technique that gives a professional finish to knitted edges. Jen Arnall-Culliford demonstrates how to achieve the finest results.
But first …
In order to work an i-cord cast-off, stitches must be picked up at edges and along row ends. There’s a video for that:
Hover over the video progress bar at the bottom of the frame to see how Jen has neatly labeled each part of the lesson.
Simply brilliant
Small knitted tubes have been around for a long time, but thanks go to Elizabeth Zimmermann for applying them to cast-ons, cast-offs, buttonholes … and thanks to Jen and Jim Arnall-Culliford for this expertly taught and filmed demonstration:
If you’re unfamiliar with the i-cord cast-off, give in to the urge to whip up a swatch to give it a try. You’ll end up with a beautifully edged mug rug!
A prime project
Rounding out the delicious dozen designs of Confident Knitting is the Prime Blanket by Carol Feller whose designs are the stars of Field Guide No. 14: Refresh.
There are instructions in the pattern for sizes small, medium, and large. Medium pictured here.
Carol’s Nua Sport (sample shown here in Kitten Fluff) provides perfect stitch definition and heathered rusticity to the Basketweave stitch texture. Don’t get us started on this super cute pocket.
Support AC Techniques
Right now you can save 20% on most books in the AC Techniques Shop here.
Best wishes to Jen and Jim, and thank you for all your helpful and fun posts here on MDK. xxx
Will miss Jen’s insightful ingenious work and wish her and her team well. They have contributed so much to knitting. I have the books and enough Kitten Fluff (delightful name) for the large blanket.
Three Confident Knitting Books are always by my favorite knitting chair! I have learned so much and enjoy my knitting more with these books close. So many techniques to easily reference. My heart goes out to Jen and family with positive thoughts and lots of hope.
Jen’s videos are fantastic. Wishing her & the rest of the gang well.
I agree with all of the above comments…wishing the entire AC Techniques team all the best! Thank you for your excellent books and videos and I hope you will be teaching all of us again in the future.
Best wishes to the AC Techniques team. Many thanks for the projects, patterns & yarns and the well taught techniques. I have quite a queue of Confident Knitting projects to keep me going during your hiatus. Please rest up and promise to come back strong!
With all the best of wishes – Jen is the calmest voice holding your hand through new skills. Their books are equally wonderful.
I’m so sorry to read that another knitting blogger has hit a very rough patch (Yarn Harlot, Fruity Knitting.) I sincerely hope that Jen takes all the time she needs to get back in the pink.
Meanwhile, I do have a question – can anyone direct me to a tutorial for blending the end of the icord bindoff to its beginning?
Hi re: your i-cord question, I use a provisional cast-on to start the i-cord, then when I get to the end, I remove the provisional cast-on and graft the live stitches to the cast-on stitches. Seamless join!
Try Roxanne Richardson and Suzanne Bryan, both on YouTube.
More well wishes for the AC team.
So calm, such advantageous camera work. Jen and her team will be missed while she is gone. Have great hopes that she will return stronger than ever.
Was sad to read that there will be a pause in Jen’s videos. I think they are excellent and have them all bookmarked. Just read to start knitting through A Year of Techniques. I wish her all the best and hope that she is able to return to producing these wonderful tutorials.