(Intro)So that's 22 stitches it reaches the length of the needle and yes we have a good length left...
Hi and welcome to Knit With Hannah. I'm Hannah. I'm here with knitting natter to help you
learn to knit the easy way. OK, why is she doing the long tail cast on you might think?
I do advocate that you learn cast on methods, and you use them when you need them, and probably 95% of
the time I use the cable cast on method, but there are times when just knowing another cast on method
because it's useful in particular places, can be helpful. So the long tail cast on method is known,
um, to be a little bit more stretchy. It can also be something that just helps you understand yarn and
understand casting on a bit better - where does the yarn move when you're casting on, what parts of the
yarn do what when you're casting on? Actually it's really useful to get your fingers doing
different things when you're knitting, just so that you're aware of these tools and these techniques
when you need them for something else. So, in that respect, I say why not learn it even if you don't
use it very much? So the long tail cast on is loved by many people ,and I'm not that keen
and i would say if you are a very early beginner knitter, you could make mistakes with this method,
so go and find a different one to do, or just watch this and be curious. I am going to take you step by
step, step by step with this because choosing how much yarn you have to spare when you start the
long tail cast on is the key. I'm going to show you how you decide how much yarn you need, and what a
finished long tail cast on looks like first, then I'm going to unravel it and we will start over.
So if you think I'm taking a long time getting to the actual cast on, I'm doing that for a reason.
Let's get to it, let's start casting on. I have a completed long tail cast on here just so we can
have a look at it and see which parts of the yarn are doing what on the needle, and that will help
us decide how much yarn we need for the long tail cast on because we need two lengths of yarn. So the
first bit we're going to look at is this piece of yarn here; this is the length that we have to
give ourselves so we have extra yarn to create the cast on. Now this piece of yarn
doesn't loop around the needle, it does this bit here. So we have quite a few just pieces there
so it's we have a single loop going all the way between one stitch and the next. So that's twice
the length in between the stitches. That's why we need a long tail when we're knitting the long tail
cast on, that's what this is, the tail. So we have the length twice in between the stitches. Now, the
yarn that goes to the ball of yarn is what makes the stitch the loop around the needle.
So, just be aware of that as we are selecting the yarn and deciding how much we need.
I'm going to take this off now. We have 22 stitches on here, um, so we kind of get the idea that it's
just about the length of the needle. So I'm going to take this off, and we're going to start over.
So, you may agree with me that we had probably a bit too much of a tail there
as we finish the cast on, so what I'm going to do is, generally speaking you need twice the length
of the number of stitches, plus more so you've got an extra bit there in case you need to sew in the
ends, or anything like that. So what we're going to do is just remember that the 22 stitches fit quite
happily on this needle, so we're going to have it. So we're going to have the yarn going twice along
along this needle, twice, and then we'll have it a third time as well, so we have the extra yarn
in case it's needed and to do any finishing off once we finish knitting. So you can see
that we've got quite a little bit less than we had first time, you can see where it's crinkly,
that's where we started off last time. So from here I'm going to create the slipknot, and that is,
like this: I'm winding the yarn around the tips and then around near the knuckles, and the needle goes
underneath the first loop and pulls that second loop through so that it's sat on the needle.
OK, so there you go. We have two lengths of yarn now, and this is where it may look complicated,
it's just a case of getting used to it. We have to hold the yarn in the left hand
and we're holding the needle in the right hand. Now, sometimes you may see instructions which don't
actually do a slipknot to start with, it's just a loop. That's fine as well, if you feel happy with
that that's OK. I actually feel happy with the slip knot. It feels more secure and I'm less likely
to use it, but i do put my finger on it at the top here, just so it doesn't fall off the needle.
But, we're now going to hold the yarn like this, making sure that the yarn to the ball
is at the top, and the yarn that's loose is at the bottom, and we're going to hold it there.
I'm going to put my three fingers around it there so it's held in the palms, and then I put my thumb and
index finger in between those two threads. OK, now this is where we make the stitches.
So, if you have watched the thumb loop cast on, this is exactly the same process: the yarn moves
in exactly the same way, we're just doing it differently. So what we're going to do
is move the needle underneath that piece of yarn, by the thumb, and over that piece of the
yarn by the index finger, and then, this loop that we've created with the thumb, goes over the end
of the needle like that. That's what creates the stitch. There we go, we now have one stitch.
I'll show you that again. We have the needle going underneath the far piece on the thumb,
over the piece on the index finger, and then that loop we've made with the thumb we just
take that over the end of the needle. So that's three stitches, under, over, and pull that through,
under, over, and pull that through. Now, here you can see already it's slightly untwisting.
That's just the way that you're moving the yarn as you're making the stitches.
So you can let go of the yarn, let it re-twist, and this is the ideal thing you see, we have
this one that's untwisting as we make the stitches, that's the loose one so it's easier to let it
retwist. OK, so we're going to hold that with the three fingers, and put the thumb
and the index finger in between the other stitches, so that's five stitches already,
under by the thumb, over by the index finger, and pull that loop over the end of the needle.
Under, over, and then pull that loop you've made with the thumb over the end of the needle, and then
you can see what I'm doing here: I'm just pulling that with the thumb to tighten it slightly, OK?
Under, over, and through, under, over, and through. So, once again I'm just going to let that retwist.
Under, over, and through, under, over, and through, under, over, and through. The thing with this is that
it's really difficult to establish how much yarn you need on your tail, depending on the thickness
of the yarn, so, if anything you overestimate rather than underestimate. That's my tip for you today.
Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. We just need ten more stitches.
Under, over, and then pull that needle through, one, two. So that's 22 stitches; it reaches the length of
the needle, and, yes we have a good length left. That is ideal for winding in, for weaving in the ends,
and ideal for just doing a little bit of a seam if necessary. So that is your long tail cast on.
Like I said it's better to overestimate rather than underestimate how much yarn you need.
If you're at in any doubt at all, give yourself a bit more,
um, and, generally speaking if you're knitting something with a long tail cast on you don't want
it tight, so don't pull the stitches too tight as you're creating them, and the long tail cast on
is ideal for an elastic edge, so just give yourself that breathing space in between the stitches.
OK, so that is the long tail cast on, and, yes it looks a bit complicated but, like I said it
can be helpful just to get used to using yarn in a different way, get used to your fingers using
the yarn differently, and, it means that when you need specific techniques that don't even, don't
necessarily use this exact cast on method, but use something similar for a particular reason,
then it's in your toolbox. What you then need to do won't feel quite so difficult. So, do go
and have another look at it, you can always rewind one of these videos and re-watch a part if it
looks too complicated. Lots of other cast on videos on this channel, over in the cast on playlist, and
of course there's a whole cast off playlist as well, so do go and have a look at them too.
Go and have a look at last week's video. That was another confusing cast on; that was called the
provisional cast on. You might find that one interesting too. Like I said, it's just another
thing to have available in case you need it. Thanks so much for joining me today. Do subscribe
and click on the bell for notifications. I'm here every Tuesday, every week, with a brand new video.
I do hope I'll see you again next week. I'll say goodbye for now. Have a great week. Happy knitting.(outro)