long tail cast on method

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links and I may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you. You can find out more in my Disclaimer.

THE LONG TAIL CAST ON OVERVIEW

Every knitting project starts with a cast on – the process of making the foundation row of stitches on your needle (knitting abbreviation – CO).

The Long Tail cast on is one of the most popular knitting cast on methods, it works for almost any knitting project. This method is quick, and it provides a neat stretchy edge.

If a pattern doesn’t specify which cast on method to use, in most cases you can use the Long Tail method.

The Long Tail method uses two strands of yarn – the long tail and the strand of yarn coming from the ball. This means you need to determine the length of the tail first because you are going to start casting from that point. If the tail is too short, there will be not enough yarn to cast on the required number stitches, if it’s too long you will need to cut the excess strand or unravel the cast on so you don’t waste yarn.

The length of the tail depends on how many stitches you actually need to cast on, and there are different ways to help you measure the amount of yarn needed. For example, you can measure roughly three times the width of your finished project, or you can wrap the yarn around your needle until the number of wraps equals the number of stitches you need to cast on. Plus you will need to add a couple of inches for the weaving in tail.

There are many variations of the cast on, below I will demonstrate the one, that I personally use.

PIN this for later!

THE LONG TAIL CAST ON | STEP-BY-STEP TUTORIAL

This tutorial shows “Continental knitting style” in which the yarn is held in and manipulated by the left hand.

To begin you will need yarn and needles.

STEP 1: Determine the length of the tail and secure it with your left hand’s fingers.

STEP 2: Drape the yarn tail over your index finger

STEP 3: Wrap the tail around your thumb

STEP 4: Grab both strands with the remaining three fingers of your left hand. Now you are ready to cast on!

STEP 5: Hold the knitting needle in your right hand. Insert the needle through the bottom of the loop on your thumb.

STEP 6: Grab the strand on your index finger.

STEP 7: Pull the strand through the loop on your thumb.

STEP 8: Release your thumb from the loop.

STEP 9: Bring your thumb under the strand to tighten. You have created a slip stitch, that is the first stitch on the needle.

Now you will need to repeat the steps until you have cast on the required number of stitches.

You will continue with step 5.

TIP: If you want to make the cast on looser (some patterns call for a “loose cast on”)  cast on over two needles – just hold them together as one. This is very handy when your knitting project starts with a ribbing (socks, hats, etc.).

I hope you found this long tail cast-on tutorial useful. Be sure to check out other knitting tutorials!