Provisional Cast On Question

Hi Everyone.

I've only done 2 projects that required a provisional cast on and both
times I found the process a complete pain in the neck. I was working
circularly and found it difficult to make sure my stitches were not
twisted when I joined the circle. I used a knitted cast on,
alternating the cast on stitches in front and in back of the auxiliary
yarn.

I am about to begin another project which calls for a provisional cast
on and I thought I'd try a crocheted version this time. My question
is, would anyone please weigh in on the pros and cons of a crocheted
provisional cast on versus a knitted one, as previously described?
Are there any problems with the crocheted version I should be aware
of? It seems so much easier and clearer to do it this way.

TIA

Hesira

hesira wrote:
Hi Everyone.

I've only done 2 projects that required a provisional cast on and both
times I found the process a complete pain in the neck. I was working
circularly and found it difficult to make sure my stitches were not
twisted when I joined the circle. I used a knitted cast on,
alternating the cast on stitches in front and in back of the auxiliary
yarn.

I am about to begin another project which calls for a provisional cast
on and I thought I'd try a crocheted version this time. My question
is, would anyone please weigh in on the pros and cons of a crocheted
provisional cast on versus a knitted one, as previously described?
Are there any problems with the crocheted version I should be aware
of? It seems so much easier and clearer to do it this way.

One of the easiest provisional castons is to CO however and knit a row
or two with scrap yarn. Then when you're ready to pick up the sts, cut
the CO or pick it out and unravel the row or two.

sue

On Feb 24, 5:59*am, suzee wrote:
hesira wrote:
Hi Everyone.

I've only done 2 projects that required a provisional cast on and both
times I found the process a complete pain in the neck. *I was working
circularly and found it difficult to make sure my stitches were not
twisted when I joined the circle. *I used a knitted cast on,
alternating the cast on stitches in front and in back of the auxiliary
yarn.

I am about to begin another project which calls for a provisional cast
on and I thought I'd try a crocheted version this time. *My question
is, would anyone please weigh in on the pros and cons of a crocheted
provisional cast on versus a knitted one, as previously described?
Are there any problems with the crocheted version I should be aware
of? *It seems so much easier and clearer to do it this way.

One of the easiest provisional castons is to CO however and knit a row
or two with scrap yarn. Then when you're ready to pick up the sts, cut
the CO or pick it out and unravel the row or two.

sue- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hesira , i am `ashmed to admit i never did a provisional cast on ,, i
would rather spend time later in very fine sewing or joining which
Nobody [ not even me can later find ,,,
I didn`t get from your letter what it is you are starting and whay the
former project was done in provisional ,,,,,
Having said that i did [and do ] at times start with a crochet base
for knitting [ but leave it as part of the pattern ,, the thing i find
tedious is to find the Right match between the crochet needle`s size
and the knitting needle`s size ,, the later should be at least 2mm
bugger to ge the same guague
mirjam

Hello Hesira
I did the crochet provisional caston for the Ice Queen. You are on ravelry.
If you go to the Ice Queen group there is lots of discussion about various
cast ons. It was my first time and it worked exceptionally well.

Louise - stonemoon

"hesira" wrote in message
...
Hi Everyone.

I've only done 2 projects that required a provisional cast on and both
times I found the process a complete pain in the neck. I was working
circularly and found it difficult to make sure my stitches were not
twisted when I joined the circle. I used a knitted cast on,
alternating the cast on stitches in front and in back of the auxiliary
yarn.

I am about to begin another project which calls for a provisional cast
on and I thought I'd try a crocheted version this time. My question
is, would anyone please weigh in on the pros and cons of a crocheted
provisional cast on versus a knitted one, as previously described?
Are there any problems with the crocheted version I should be aware
of? It seems so much easier and clearer to do it this way.

TIA

Hesira

On Feb 23, 9:59*pm, suzee wrote:
hesira wrote:
Hi Everyone.

I've only done 2 projects that required a provisional cast on and both
times I found the process a complete pain in the neck. *I was working
circularly and found it difficult to make sure my stitches were not
twisted when I joined the circle. *I used a knitted cast on,
alternating the cast on stitches in front and in back of the auxiliary
yarn.

I am about to begin another project which calls for a provisional cast
on and I thought I'd try a crocheted version this time. *My question
is, would anyone please weigh in on the pros and cons of a crocheted
provisional cast on versus a knitted one, as previously described?
Are there any problems with the crocheted version I should be aware
of? *It seems so much easier and clearer to do it this way.

One of the easiest provisional castons is to CO however and knit a row
or two with scrap yarn. Then when you're ready to pick up the sts, cut
the CO or pick it out and unravel the row or two.

sue

Thanks Sue. My problem with the cast on is the fact that I'm working
circularly, and a CO around an auxiliary piece of yarn makes it
difficult to tell whether my stitches are twisted. I think your idea
is really good and I see how I could apply it to circular knitting.
It would probably make it easier if I knit a couple rows flat with the
waste yarn and then joined the circle.

Hesira

On Feb 23, 10:41*pm, wrote:
On Feb 24, 5:59*am, suzee wrote:



hesira wrote:
Hi Everyone.

I've only done 2 projects that required a provisional cast on and both
times I found the process a complete pain in the neck. *I was working
circularly and found it difficult to make sure my stitches were not
twisted when I joined the circle. *I used a knitted cast on,
alternating the cast on stitches in front and in back of the auxiliary
yarn.

I am about to begin another project which calls for a provisional cast
on and I thought I'd try a crocheted version this time. *My question
is, would anyone please weigh in on the pros and cons of a crocheted
provisional cast on versus a knitted one, as previously described?
Are there any problems with the crocheted version I should be aware
of? *It seems so much easier and clearer to do it this way.

One of the easiest provisional castons is to CO however and knit a row
or two with scrap yarn. Then when you're ready to pick up the sts, cut
the CO or pick it out and unravel the row or two.

sue- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hesira , i am `ashmed to admit i never did a provisional cast on ,, i
would rather spend time later in very fine sewing or joining which
Nobody [ not even me can later find ,,,
I didn`t get from your letter what it is you are starting and whay the
former project was done in provisional ,,,,,
Having said that i did [and do ] at times start with a crochet base
for knitting [ but leave it as part of the pattern ,, the thing i find
tedious is to find the Right match between the crochet needle`s size
and the knitting needle`s size ,, the later should be at least 2mm
bugger to ge the same guague
mirjam

Hi Mirjam,

I'm making my second We Call Them Pirates Hat. It has a folded hem
instead of a ribbed cuff. I think I used the CO described in
Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears the first time and had a
few problems joining without a twist, but last night I went ahead and
did the crocheted provisional cast on, and joining was no problem. My
main concern was that the provisional stitches might be oversized, but
I figured since they are basically going under the hem, it's OK.

Here's a picture of the hat I'm making:

http://helloyarn.com/wecallthempirates.htm

And here's how the first one I made turned out:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3504366...7594082853054/

Hesira

On Feb 24, 9:18*am, "stonemoon" wrote:
Hello Hesira
I did the crochet provisional caston for the Ice Queen. You are on ravelry..
If you go to the Ice Queen group there is lots of discussion about various
cast ons. It was my first time and it worked exceptionally well.

Louise - stonemoon


Thanks for the tip Louise, I check it out.

Hesira

On Feb 23, 9:41*pm, wrote:
Having said that i did [and do ] at times start with a crochet base
for knitting [ but leave it as part of the pattern ,, the thing i find
tedious is to find the Right match between the crochet needle`s size
and the knitting needle`s size ,, the later should be at least 2mm
bugger to ge the same guague
mirjam

If you're going to remove the crochet chain, which you WILL do for a
provisional cast on, the crochet hook size doesn't matter. The size of
the knit stitches are determined purely by the size of the knitting
needle. In fact, I will often make my crochet chain oversized to make
it easier to knit into the bumps on the back of the chain and to keep
the chain from pulling in the knitting.

Alan

On Feb 25, 2:11*pm, Alan wrote:
On Feb 23, 9:41*pm, wrote:

Having said that i did [and do ] at times start with a crochet base
for knitting [ but leave it as part of the pattern ,, the thing i find
tedious is to find the Right match between the crochet needle`s size
and the knitting needle`s size ,, the later should be at least 2mm
bugger to ge the same guague
mirjam

If you're going to remove the crochet chain, which you WILL do for a
provisional cast on, the crochet hook size doesn't matter. The size of
the knit stitches are determined purely by the size of the knitting
needle. In fact, I will often make my crochet chain oversized to make
it easier to knit into the bumps on the back of the chain and to keep
the chain from pulling in the knitting.

Alan

Hi Alan,

The way I did the crochet cast on wasn't quite the same as you
describe. Instead of making a chain and knitting into the bumps, I
crocheted the cast on directly onto the knitting needle, using the
same diameter crochet hook as knitting needle. I don't know if it
would have made a difference if my hook had been larger or smaller
using this technique, but it all turned out just fine.

Hesira

Well, thanks for the tips and comments. I went ahead and casted on
using a method that involves crocheting the cast on directly onto the
knitting needle. Everything went just fine. My only problem was I
used the same kind of yarn for my cast on (baby alpaca) as my knitted
hat. The alpaca was difficult to unzip. I think next time I'll try a
smooth cotton.

Can you believe I went nuts and practically finished the hat over the
weekend? I've just got a little bit of the lining to knit, then
tacking it down and weaving in ends. I may finish it tonight, or by
tomorrow for sure. It's for my DH, and he actually requested it.
That's all the incentive I needed!

Hesira