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The Emporia => A Good Yarn => Topic started by: justpottering on March 05, 2018, 12:04:26 PM

Title: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: justpottering on March 05, 2018, 12:04:26 PM
I can do it, easily, but I dislike it intensely, especially trying to judge the amount of yarn needed to so it and knit the first row which is always a faff to me, whereas casting on with needles seems so simple by comparison

Can anyone tell me why/if one method is better than the other?
I've been a knitter since I was a child, and can do just about anything, my current project - cardigan for hubby - requires cast on with thumb, as I only have one more sleeve to do your replies won't help this project, but I am thinking in future if it says this I will ignore it what I don't know is if that will make any difference.

This is what I'm making

https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Sirdar-Country-Style-DK-Knitting-Pattern-for-Jackets-9365/1466396071?thm=1000
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Francesca on March 05, 2018, 12:06:32 PM
Normally, different cast-on methods are required based on what sort of seam you want. Certain methods are more stretchy whereas others are more stable. So you pick a cast-on based on requirements not on ease of method.

Top tip for estimating how much length you need: wrap your yarn around the needle the number of stitches you need, then add a bit for luck. Always works for me.
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Lowena on March 05, 2018, 13:15:59 PM
Never heard of casting on any other way than with needles  :|
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Francesca on March 05, 2018, 13:29:21 PM
I find thumb cast-on to be the quickest but it's not that stretchy. If I want more stretch then I go for whatever method is recommended. It really depends on what you want from the edge.
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Stitches on March 05, 2018, 13:37:39 PM
I have always used casting on with thumb method
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Ploshkin on March 05, 2018, 15:35:28 PM
Quote
Never heard of casting on any other way than with needles

@Lowena don't worry, I hadn't either until a short while ago when I used a Bergere de France pattern.  I have since discovered that there are lots of different ways to cast off too!
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Lowena on March 05, 2018, 16:34:55 PM
EEK! You live and learn  :D
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Deafoldbat on March 05, 2018, 19:17:33 PM
I've never used the thumb method - I've tried, but my brain doesn't think that way, at least from diagrams; perhaps if someone showed me I might get it. It always seems daft to have to estimate the length of yarn you need before you start. I cast on with needles, after the first stitch, I knit behind the previous stitch and that seems to work perfectly well. There are lots of ways to cast on and off depending on what you are making,  but that cast on, and regular cast off have always worked for me.
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Ellabella on March 05, 2018, 20:20:50 PM
I usually use a long tail cast on as I find if I do a needle cast on I get a really tight edge.

If  I am doing something using more than one ball of yarn I just use yarn from two balls rather than try to guess how much I will need, cut the second ball loose after you have finished casting on.

If its a one ball project its unlikly to have dozens of stitches so Frans method works really well.
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Ploshkin on March 05, 2018, 22:19:35 PM
Good tip about using the second ball @Ellabella .  Why didn't I think of that?
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: BrendaP on March 06, 2018, 00:03:22 AM
There are two ways of doing a long tail cast on - and (if done correctly) end up being identical.   The slingshot method and the thumb method, lots of tutorials and videos of both on the web.  It's essentially a row of backwards e-loops with a stich knitted into each.

The slingshot method seems to be more popular with people who knit continental, yarn held in the same hand as the needle which supplies the stitches.  The thumb method is more popular with people who knit English style with the yarn held in the same hand as the needle receiving the new stitches (usually the right hand).

Really, all you do for the thumb method is make the backwards loop over your (left) thumb and knit into it.  Or you can purl into it.  If you are going to work ribbing immediately after casting on then use the thumb method and knit or purl appropriately.

Getting a cast on to be stretchy is about the distance between the stitches rather than the size of the stitches.  With practice thumb method of long tail cast on can be very stretchy.  Just put as little tension as you can without it all falling off the needles.
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Fiona M on March 06, 2018, 07:34:34 AM
I'm not much of a knitter, but casting on by the thumb method gives me a neat bottom edge, whereas if I cast on with two needles I end up with a row of loose loops along then bottom edge, no matter how tight I try to do the stitches.  Nobody has ever been able to explain why this happens.
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Lollipop on March 06, 2018, 19:39:58 PM
FionaM that's what I find happens too.

Haven't knit for ages as I am so busy sewing but this thread makes me want to knit something!
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Kenora on March 06, 2018, 21:39:13 PM
I agree with Fiona M that I always get a much firmer and neater edge when casting on by the thumb method. I've used this method since I was a child and much prefer it, although obviously I've used the needle method too but find I get a very slack edge.

Fran's method of estimating yarn length does work although it has its drawbacks when casting on hundreds of stitches.
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: BrendaP on March 06, 2018, 21:53:54 PM
I reckon the tail needs to be 3-4 times times the expected width of the knitting.

If you are casting on hundreds of stitches try using a separate ball of yarn (or the other end of the ball you are using) for wrapping around your thumb.  Once all the stitches are cast on cut it to a few inches.  It will mean a couple more ends to weave in, but that's less painfull than ripping out a gazillion stitches and starting again.
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Kenora on March 06, 2018, 22:35:10 PM
I must be an awkward so-and-so, Brenda - I would much rather rip out a gazillion stitches and start again, than have to weave in an extra end. It's a job I really hate.  :devil:
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Ploshkin on March 07, 2018, 12:15:48 PM
Quote
if I cast on with two needles I end up with a row of loose loops along then bottom edge,
@Fiona M When you cast on with 2 needles do you work the first row through the back of the stitches.  That's how I was taught to do it and it does away with the loops.
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Deafoldbat on March 07, 2018, 18:46:11 PM
Quote
  work the first row through the back of the stitches

That's what I do and it gives a neater edge than knitting into the loop of the stitch you've just made.
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Lincoln hobbit on March 07, 2018, 19:10:18 PM
I use the thumb method for most casting on, and find it easier to do, but it gives quite a tight first row and I knit very tightly anyway. However I'm currently knitting socks (4th pair nearly done!) and use the two needle method as it makes it looser and means I can actually wear the finished item. So I think it's a choice depending on what you're making. Deciding how much of a tail you need for the thumb method gets easier with practise - though it is more than annoying if you run out before you have the number of stitches you need. >:)
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: justpottering on March 08, 2018, 16:36:26 PM
Great replies ladies thank you, this cardigan does have a looser edge using this cast on method, but I still find it a bit of a faff, still I'm happy to do what the pattern suggests even if I don't particularly like it  -<
I do like a bit of knitting in the evenings as I can knit and watch tele at the same time, that's when there's something worth watching that is  :S
Thanks again
Title: Re: casting on using the thumb method
Post by: Bogwoppit on March 10, 2018, 22:15:37 PM
Bit late to this thread but I read somewhere that for thumb method you need at least three times as much yarn as for the length needed.

I use thumb method for hats, top down socks, and mittens. So that's three times round my head and add a bit for luck, three times round my leg, etc.

Worked every time so far.

Xx Lisa.