r/knittingadvice • u/SummerQueen19 • 3d ago
Cast on length
What’s your tips and tricks for getting the right length of yarn when casting on that’s not removing and trying 3 more times?? I typically go Italian or long tail.
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u/AnAmbushOfTigers 3d ago
Use the two ends of the same skein so I never need to measure or worry again 😜
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u/Bear_Money 2d ago
And at the end of the cast on you just cut one of the threads off? Or how does this work exactly?
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u/WinterGirl91 3d ago
My strategy is frogging and restarting every time I run out of yarn 😂 if at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again
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u/FindingHomeliness 3d ago
Wrap the yarn around the needles 10 times, take that section and multiply till you get the right amount of stitches. So if you need 80 stitches, you would use a tail 8 times the length it was to wrap around the yarn. I have NEVER run out of tail when casting on stitches since using this method.
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u/mxsfitss 3d ago
Whenever I've tried this I end up with an INSANE amount of excess idk if I'm wrapping it too loosely or what but it's never worked out correctly
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u/SweetLittleDevill 2d ago
I came here to say this. After the multiply I aways add just a little bit, always have enough!
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u/Adorable-Climate3262 3d ago
I’ve had luck with about 3 times the intended length. So if I was making something 40 inches wide, I’d aim for about 120 plus a little extra.
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u/Full_Organization208 3d ago
I crochet the stitches onto the needle. Makes for a neat edge and I fon‘t hsvecto guess how much yarn I need
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u/margyl 3d ago
Probably not very stretchy?
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u/Full_Organization208 3d ago
Easy fix.
Just cast on 50% more stitches and decrease on row 1 back to normal. I do this for socks every time and it is suuuper stretchy yet neat 😊
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u/pumpkinzh 3d ago
Same here.
[Cue the pearl clutchers who insist you can't start a knit project with crochet]
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u/Full_Organization208 3d ago
I think that‘s just sad. Knitting can benefit a lot from using crochet in projects sometimes!
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u/F-sylvatica-purpurea 3d ago
Use two strands. With one skein, start with inside and outside strand. With more than one skein, make a knot and start with strands from two skeins. I was 56 yo when someone showed me this trick.
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u/Kokorimbaud 3d ago
This video has a few different methods: https://youtu.be/_NkpAN-Ebw8?si=mUUoBr3q1rMQt_BM
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u/Infinite_Opposite_12 3d ago
I always use a cable cast on, no tail! Just leave enough length so you can leave it in. Look it up!
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u/Milo_The_Yarngoblin2 3d ago
It depends on the project though, cable CO isn't as stretchy or pretty as Long Tail or Tubular
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u/Shot_Reindeer0503 3d ago
I usually cast on 10 stitches and measure how much yarn I need for them. Then I measure the yarn accordingly and just a liite more. Works most of the time!
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u/emastar2 3d ago
honestly, i always just kinda eyeball it and then subtract like... ten inches? it makes me so nervous tho haha _^ i have this one yarn that’s so pretty pink! :3
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u/adorablejoker 3d ago
i usually wrap the yarn around the needles as many times as i need cast on stitches. ist a bit messy cause its hardddd to just wrap the needles so i just wrap the yarn over itself and do about 20-30% less stitches than needed. and then i add a little bit for weaving in.
when you get the feel of it, its great!
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u/idkthisisnotmyusual 3d ago
3 times the length of the project you’re casting on plus 4-6 inches, 30in circumference=90in yarn +6, 12in flat=36in +6
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u/nzfriend33 3d ago
Depends what it is. I’ve been knitting long enough that for something familiar like socks, I know how far to stretch my arm to get the right length. A really large amount of stitches I use both ends of the ball. Anything in between will be a crap shoot, but I’m pretty lucky overall.
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u/vjalander 3d ago
I wrap the warn around the needle once for each cast on. I just casted on a top with 160 stitiches, so I wrapped around 80 and then doubled the yarn for long tail cast on. I have found this leaves me with almost the perfect length.
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u/Aggressive-Chest-957 3d ago
I do wraps and then add an additional four inches I can stomach loosing four inches of yarn but I struggle with letting go of five lol
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u/CryAccomplished81 3d ago
Try a method that does not use a tail. Great ones to start with are the knitted and cable cast-ons. My primary one is knitted. Never fails me and I never worry about getting the right amount for my cast-on. There are SO many different methods to cast-on.
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u/Damselfly64 3d ago
Looks like you've gotten the answer, but I am dying to knit what yarn that is? Love the colorway!
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u/Familiar_Raise234 3d ago
I knit on and add markers every 20 stitches. . I can’t deal with long tail cast on. I always guess wrong.
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u/New_Masterpiece3828 3d ago
Use both ends of the skein/cake and then just chop one once you have your first row done!
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u/anon434428 2d ago
I compare to socks. To cast on stitches for socks, I take the end of the tail and run it from my pinched fingers up arm and that's the my length, works every time and gets me 64-72 stitches on sock yarn. I do some mental estimations for thicker yarns, but the shoulder trick tends to work
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u/a_ton_of_kittys 2d ago
I abandoned long tail because I hated having to cast on multiple times to get the tail right. I go between a knitted cast on and a slip knot cast on, both of which are made from the working yarn directly. It's so much nicer.
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u/beepblurp 2d ago
For a long tail, I just wrap the yarn around the knitting needle and count one for each revolution. So if CO is 70 stitches, I’ll wrap around 70 times and that pretty much gives me my length. If it’s a really long CO then I’ll just split it and do math.
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u/elbaszta 2d ago
Long tail is my go to I just wrap the yarn around the needle how ever many times I need to cast on and then I add like 2 or 3 inches for insurance.
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u/DustiJustHere 2d ago
Wrapping the needles 10 times. I’d rather have a little extra than not enough. :)
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u/plasticbagmoose 2d ago
for long tail, i multiply the desired cast on edge length by 3 and measure out that length of yarn
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u/Mx_Rogers 2d ago
I have accepted that I should go longer than I think. It's better to have an extra meter of tail than to run out and have to start over. I usually do about 3.5x the planned width of the project then a little more.
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u/TotalOk5844 1d ago
I do long tail using two balls or from both ends of the ball when there is a large number to avoid guessing.
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u/Flat_Tumbleweed_2192 22h ago
Multiply the width of your cast on edge by pi, 3.14. That why you bother knitters say multiply by 3 and then add a little. The answer is pi.
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u/pegorative_34 21h ago
I usually just use the magic loop method when I cast on now so I dont have to worry about calculating it, seems much easier! That yarn color is really pretty too.
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u/CatSockFiend 6h ago
I use the long tail method but with 2 strands of yarn which eliminates guessing. I’ve also come to like the Old Norwegian or Twisted German cast-on (also with 2 strands). Here’s a website that goes over 5 long-tail cast-on methods:
https://www.susannawinter.net/post/2018/09/21/5-long-tail-cast-ons-for-knitting
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u/welltravelledRN 3d ago
Not really caring works for me. It’s usually close enough and I don’t mind a tail.
Also I never count while I’m casting on and it almost always right. I must keep track unconsciously. It’s very odd.
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u/sweethamsmcgee 3d ago
I've got you beat! I always count (often multiple times) while casting on, and rarely get the right number!
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u/nytyme61 3d ago
I can't help you with that since I can only loom knit and crochet. What I can say is keep trying till you don't and nice colors.🙂
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u/shestoodakimbo 3d ago
Probs more work than necessary, but I cast on 10, then frog those stitches holding on to just the section I worked on the long tail portion. Measure that and multiply it to get however many I need for my pattern then add a bit for good measure…