Lindy's Knits & Laces Cast Ons,knitting,Knitting Techniques German Twisted Cast On (a.k.a. Old Norwegian Cast on)

German Twisted Cast On (a.k.a. Old Norwegian Cast on)

The German Twisted Cast On, which is also known as the Old Norwegian Cast On, is a variation of the standard Long Tail Cast on. This cast on has an extra twist in the working yarn. This makes it more elastic than the LTCO and it also uses a little more yarn.

The cast on has a nice edge that looks good on both the right and wrong sides of the fabric.  It is a very good cast on to use for cuffs, mittens, gloves, and hats.

Link to video on Twisted German Cast On.

Link to slow motion video for Twisted German Cast On.

Suzanne Bryan (Master Hand Knitter and excellent teacher) has developed a new variation for a stretchy twisted long tail cast on. Link to video: Twisted Long Tail CO in Pattern.

This post ends my series on cast ons for now. I hope my readers have found this information helpful.

Related Post

Stitch Patterns – Three Examples of RibbingStitch Patterns – Three Examples of Ribbing

3Ribbings

All ribbing is a combination of knit and purl stitches across a row.  When you knit back on the next row, you knit the stitches as the face you, that is, knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches. The knit stitches form a ridge (or rib) and the purl stitches form a valley.  Ribbing is essentially a reversible fabric.  Ribbing is elastic crosswise and will stretch lengthwise and is most often used for sweater neckbands and bottoms and the cuff of socks.   Ribbing also “pulls in” naturally, so it will effect the shape of your garment.

One-By-One (1×1) Ribbing:

1x1Ribbing

This is knitted exactly as it says.  Knit 1 stitch, purl 1 stitch across the row.  (Remember to move your yarn from back to front as you knit and purl.)  If you are knitting this ribbing flat for a garment, you should be knitting an odd number of stitches, so that when the garment is seamed together the ribbing will appear to be continuous.   If you are knitting in the round, you should always have an even number of stitches.   This ribbing is the most elastic of ribbings.  It tends to look more loosely knit than stockinette stitch, and because it is so elastic, most patterns have you knit your ribbing on needles that are a size or two smaller than the body of the pattern.

Two-By-Two (2×2) Ribbing:

2x2Ribbing

This ribbing is made by K2, P2 across the row.  It is a multiple of 4 stitches, so when knitting a flat piece to be joined with another, you should be knitting a multiple of 4 plus 1 stitch so that the pieces will weave together correctly.  For knitting in the round, you would knit over a multiple of 4 stitches.  This is a popular ribbing and it works well for sock cuffs, but it is not as elastic as the 1×1 ribbing.

Three-By-One (3×1) Ribbing:

3x1Ribbing

This ribbing is also a multiple of 4 stitches:  K3, P1 across.  The rules for 2×2 ribbing also apply to this ribbing.  As you can see in the picture, this produces a wide rib with an almost invisible valley.  I have seen this ribbing used in sock patterns and it does give the socks and attractive looking cuff.

Other Ribbing Patterns: There are many other variations of ribbing, including Cabled Ribbing, Four-By-Two Ribbing, and Six-by-Three Ribbing.   I will include an example of Cabled Ribbing in a latter post on Cable Stitch Patterns.

Note: For information about tension issues with ribbing, see my post: Master Knitter Level I – Swatches # 1, 2, & 3.

FO: Basic Anklets — Cuff DownFO: Basic Anklets — Cuff Down

After doing two pairs of the “Fancy Feet” Anklets, I came to the following conclusions:
1) I really, really do not like to knit socks of any type toe-up. (I know that may shock those of you that swear toe-up is the only way to go — but there it is. I just don’t like to knit ’em that way.
2) I don’t like the repeating short rows that make the heel on this pattern. I don’t care for it’s depth or it’s shape.
3) I prefer using the German Short Row method over the “Wrap and Turn” method.

As knitters, we do have the right to our preferences. These are some of mine.

That said, I got out my needles and some leftover sock yarn and started working on a basic anklet pattern, cuff down. I have now finished my first pair and my notes are a bit sketchy — so I will need to knit a couple more pairs before I put out my basic pattern. But here a couple of pictures of the completed anklets:

Details:
Yarn: Leftover Serendipity yarn in colorway Amethyst
Needles: US 2 (2.50 mm) circulars, 48″
Magic Loop method. Pattern has a basic rib cuff and a short-row heel. Knit in stockinette stitch.

You will note the pooling on this yarn. I wrote about how this variegated yarn pools depending on the size of needles and the number of stitches back in 2010. If you’re interested here’s the link: A Study of Pooling in a Variegated Sock Yarn

FO: My Traveling Woman ShawlFO: My Traveling Woman Shawl

Traveling Woman Shawl

I started this shawl the end of October and finished it in December. For me, this is a fairly quick knit in a lace pattern. The pattern is free on Ravelry and is quite popular. The shawl is knit in a triangle, starting at the center neck and grows as you knit it. It has a fagotted edging along the neckline. You knit the shawl in stockinette stitch to a selected number of stitches and then begin the feather and fan lace pattern. You are given an option to increase the number of pattern repeats you do so that your shawl will be longer and then you follow the second lace pattern to make the edging.

I knit this using Forsell Superwash Wool, 3 ply yarn and size 4 needles. This yarn is closer to a lace weight yarn than a fingering weight yarn and is actually a machine knitting yarn. If I were to do this shawl again, I would definitely go with a heavier yarn as I think the lace pattern would be better in at least a fingering weight yarn. I also would use a stretchy bind-off, rather than the one given in the pattern as my bound off edge was not as stretchy as I would have liked it to be and did not scallop like I thought it should when I blocked it.

The pattern itself is a very nice one, easy to follow. The finished shawl measured 19.5 inches by 56 inches, so it is more of a scarf than a shawl.

See details on my Ravelry Projects page.