Knitting in the Shadows: Love Affair with Judy's Magic..

Several years ago, I went to a wonderful (wonderful) workshop with Cat Bordhi. Among the things I learned there was a cast on unvented by the delightufl Judy Becker (who was a "classmate" of mine there, how cool is that). {For those non-knitters among you, a cast on is the way one gets stitches on a needle. You're more than welcome to stay, but this post is really gonna be knit-geeky, and you might just want to bail now and wait until I do something different (I may, for example, do a little dance on contingent fees in personal injury suits}

So, this cast on, now rather popular, is called Judy's Magic Cast On. You can find all sorts of tutorials for it on You Tube, but I find it particularly delightful that one of them is done by Cat Bordhi.

So... where was I? Oh yes, talking about this glorious cast on. I'm fond of it, to be sure. And any time I need a provisional cast on, I gravitate directly to that one. (I wonder if I even remember the other ways -- besides the old stand by using scrap yarn and a crochet hook).

Oh, lookie, we've got a newbie or non-knitter still with us.... I hear a soft voice murmering "What in blazes is a provisional cast on?? Is that something you put where you're not sure you really wanted to cast on??"

Well, not quite. A provisional cast on is one that, instead of leaving a nice edge (firm or stretchy, depending) on one side, and a bunch of live stitches on the needle on the other, like this:

(well, okay, that's a cast on edge, with a bunch of beads, and on row knit. But you can see the edge and the live stitches, right?)

leaves live stitches on both sides! (like this:)

This is right after the cast on. Here's what happens after you've knit one row:

And here's where you are after knitting two rows:

That means that you can then knit in both directions away from the cast on. This can be very useful...... say, in scarves with lace or textured patterns that are visually very different when upside down; you can caston provisionally, knit one side, bind off, go back to the live stitches that are still up there, and knit the other side -- which will be the first side's identical twin as it lays on your coat collar.

As I said. I've known for a long time that I think provisional cast ons are nifty as all get out. But today I realized just how far gone I am. I'm working on this sweater design. It starts in the center back, so ... obviously... I used Judy's Magic Cast On. As I'm going along side to side, I increased at the neckline until.... voila ... it dawns on me that I can avoid shoulder seams if I just cast on more for the front piece. For some sweaters, you really do WANT shoulder seams. But I think that this one might actually benefit from their absence. Besides, I can always go back and do a magic shoulder stabilizer thing if I'm wrong.

Now, if I just cast on to bring stitches over the shoulder, I'd have a nice clean EDGE. That woudl be nice if said edge would wind up where I want the center edge of the cardigan to be.. but of course, I'm no longer at the center of the sweater, having knit one side of the neck. That means... you guessed it, I'll need to knit in both directions from that point if the thing will be other than a kimono with no hope of ever being buttoned. Since my client bought a very cool button so that she could button the sweater, I'm thinking I'll need to do that bi-directional knitting thing. And so, I've provisionally cast on again. I'll be adding at least one more provisional cast on before it's over. Heck, it's entirely possible that they'll all be in play before I bind off a thing. Here's the latest one, a couple of rows in.

But my favorite part about Judy's Magic Cast On? It's the only one I've heard of that leaves a purl bump between the cast on edges... so once it's in play, you really can't find the place you started.

Comments

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I can't believe you didn't even mention socks in your post. Judy's magic cast on is perfect for toe up socks. And your blog needs more socks anyways...
Although the casting on for the neckline is pretty awesome.

Posted by: Colleen G | March 25, 2011 at 07:23 AM