Q&A: nuances of the half-hitch simple cast on

I am adding a new Q&A category that will highlight a question or comment. I’ll occasionally alternate these weekly with the Bit-size Tutorials or Tips & Techniques. They all sort of go hand-in-hand, so I hope you will always check all of them out for things you might find an “ah-ha” moment.

Even though you might have seen a reply in the comments to a particular post or pattern, I wanted to be sure you could benefit from a brief reply you might have missed. I will also usually have some pictures or other content to expand upon the comment/question and reply. Sound good? Please let me know what you think of this approach.

FIRST UP! Even the “simple” cast on has it’s nuances, as this week’s bit-size Q&A will point out.

Janey commented to the Simple Cast On post –

The half-hitch cast on looks like the thumb cast on that I do – at least it looks like my thumb cast on if I keep the stitches far apart.

There are lots of names for this type cast on. Try it and see if it ends up being the same. In certain cases where the first stitch of the row is slipped purlwise with yarn in front (sl1 pwise wyif) after casting on (which sometimes is the case in lace edgings), it can make a difference in whether the working end is coming out back or front the loop on the needle.

If the working end is going toward the back as the work faces you to begin the row, the sl1 pwise wyif stitch will hold.

working end of simple half-hitch cast on is going toward the BACK as the work faces you to begin knitting first row

If its not, the cast on stitch will become undone. So just check this out with your method.

working end of simple half-hitch cast on is coming to the FRONT as the work faces you to begin knitting first row

So far our 2 little bit-size monthly lace edging projects have not begun with a row that is slipped purlwise with yarn in front after casting (and intentionally, thus I didn’t need to get into this little detail yet). But that will be coming up. In the spirit of taking things one bit at a time, this is just one of those things to add to your growing bag of lace knitting know-how that I hope will help you become even more comfortable in understanding the nuances of loops of yarn./thread