How To Cast On With Two Strands Of Yarn

A traditional long-tail cast on requires you to estimate or even guess how long your yarn should be for all the stitches you need. There are lots of tips for measuring or estimating, including knitting small samples and multiplying, wrapping the needle, or even roughly guessing based on a length and the number of stitches. These can be great for smaller projects, but on projects with lots of stitches, it’s horrible to find out that, 150 stitches in, you don’t have a long enough tail. It’s also not fun to overestimate and waste several feet of yarn. For this 2-strand version, pull from two skeins of yarn or from the outside and the center pull on a single skein. When you start with two strands, it works the same way as using a long tail, but you have exactly how much yarn you need because it’s all coming from the skein. The one drawback to this method is that you end up with a few more ends to weave in from that second strand. And while most people don’t enjoy weaving ends, when it comes to casting on lots of stitches, this version is still sure to save you time! Slide the slip knot onto your knitting needle. The strand that you want to work with for your project should be on your finger and the second strand (taking the place of the long tail) should be on your thumb. This is important if you have a preference for which strand you want to be your working yarn as you continue the project (for example, if you’re working from one skein and want to use the center pull strand). Dip the knitting needle under the lower yarn that’s wrapped around your thumb and bring it up.  Reading through the steps takes longer than the actual process, so be sure to watch the long-tail cast-on video to see this both in real-time and slowed down. The slip stitch doesn’t count as a stitch and will come off after your first row. So as you count your stitches as you add them, don’t count the slip knot. When it’s time to finish off your project, weave in all three of the ends from this cast-on process, and be thankful for less estimating frustration!