When I first started to knit sweaters, I wanted them to look exactly like store-bought sweaters. At that time, “handmade” was almost synonymous to “unprofessional”, even “low quality”. Of course, I didn’t want that for my sweaters, so I tried to avoid the “handmade look” as much as I could.
I used fine yarn and thin needles, I spent hours fixing
mistakes, even the ones that no one would ever notice, but there was one
thing that invariably gave me away – a stiff ridge at the bottom of the
sweater and the cuffs.
The bottom band and the cuffs were usually knit in 1×1 ribbing, and because I used “good old” long tail cast on (the only type of cast on I knew back then :-), there was always a ridge at the bottom edge, and that ridge restricted the stretch of the fabric. Sometimes, it was that bad, that I could hardly squeeze my hands through the cuffs …
And then I discovered Italian cast on (also called “long tail tubular cast on” in some sources). This way to cast on stitches is a game-changer. It creates a stretchy cast on edge, works great for 1×1 ribbing, and doesn’t create a ridge at the bottom. The best part – it is also quite easy to do.
Let’s see how it works.
The main advantage of the second way of setting up the pattern is that the edge of the work is not too stretchy, and it is a bit thicker than the edge created by the way #1. The downside – it’s not as simple as starting working in the ribbing pattern right away.
Both ways have their pros and cons, but the truth is – the result is not THAT much different. If you are not too fussy about the thickness and the amount of stretch of the cast on edge, pick the way that you like better and use it whenever you decide to use Italian (long tail tubular) cast on.
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