The Knitter - UK (2019-08)

only in this case it’s the working yarn of
two different yarns, rather than the
working and tail ends of one yarn.
Now work a standard long tail cast on.
You’ll see that the yarn over your index
finger makes the stitch, and the yarn over
your thumb makes the connection
underneath it.
For horizontal stripes, work the entire
cast-on with one yarn on your index
finger, one on your thumb. For alternating
stitches, simply swap the two yarns around
after every cast-on stitch, rotating them
anti-clockwise. It’s important to twist
them the same way each time.
When counting your stitches, make sure
you don’t include the slip knot at the start.
Then once you’re finished, simply slip this
off the needle. Your yarns will be very
twisted at this point – untwist them before
you join into the round and continue
knitting.

CHANNEL ISLAND CAST-ON
If you’re after a cast-on that’s a little bit
decorative, but simple to work and
hardwearing, then this is a great choice.
When used for garments, it’s traditionally
followed by rows of garter stitch, but the
tiny picots created every other stitch also
work really well with 1x1 ribbing. Do note
though that the doubled-up yarn can mean
a lot of ends to weave in.

HOW TO WORK A CHANNEL ISLAND
CAST-ON
Pull about 100cm from your yarn, and fold
it in half. Around 10cm from the end (the

ball end, not the folded end) make a slip

knot using both strands of yarn and place it

on your needle. Now hold the doubled yarn

in your left hand, and the working yarn in

your right.

Make a yarnover with the working yarn.

Then wrap the doubled yarn around

the thumb of your left hand, twice,

anti-clockwise. Take the needle tip

underneath the two doubled strands of

yarn, moving from the base of your thumb

to the top, then wrap the working yarn

around the needle to make a stitch. Pull

the doubled yarn over then tighten to

neaten the base of the stitch.

Continue to work like this, creating

stitches in batches of two, until you get

to your desired stitch count. You’ll also

have the slip knot at the beginning, so

you’ll have an odd number of stitches

when you’re done. The best way to deal

with this is to knit the first and last stitches

in the round together as you begin to work

your cuff.

About our expert

Rhian Drinkwater is a

knitting writer, editor,

designer and prolific sock

knitter, who has created

many beautiful sock patterns for The

Knitter and Simply Knitting magazines.

TWO-COLOUR CAST-ON (ALTERNATING) CHANNEL ISLAND CAST-ON

Using a German

twisted cast-on

gives a little more

stretch to the cuff

Masterclass

The Knitter 66 Issue 141 Subscribe now at TheYarnLoop.com