Do you want to do socks from the toe-up but not have to do a provisional cast-on? The easiest way is to do a Kitchener cast-on right on the loom. I'm not sure who was the 1st to come up with this technique but there are quite a few videos online for this cast-on. I thought I'd do a quick pictorial for those who prefer them or do not have time to watch the videos. I will not be making a video since I think there are already enough quality videos out there explaining this technique.
Pros of this cast-on: It's fairly easy to do and usually produces an almost seamless Kitchener join.
Cons of this cast-on: It blocks the bottom of your loom particularly after pulling it closed making it hard to grip and control your loom.
One note about this cast on, make sure you slowly and carefully tighten your loops as the yarn can become easily tangled as it's being pulled. The natural barbs on some fibers like wool, mohair, alpaca, etc. can grab and make pulling this cast on a little difficult as these fibers like to stick together (dry felt) when worked too harshly. Be gentle, work slowly and you should be fine.
Also...If the stars align, I'll have a provisional cast-on tutorial for speed loom knitters like me that do not like the bottom of their project blocked by this cast on. I grip my loom from the bottom, holding the back of my working yarn with one hand and knitting with the other. I don't work on top of the loom like I see many loom knitters. A provisional cast-on allows you to do Kitchener on live stitches using knitting needles later. There is also a way to Kitchener from the provisional cast-on without transferring to needles.
Update: Brenda Myers has been nice enough to share that she is the developer of this cast-on. You can see what she had to say about it in the comments below this post.
Update: Brenda Myers has been nice enough to share that she is the developer of this cast-on. You can see what she had to say about it in the comments below this post.
Kitchener Cast-On
Uses: Toe-up Socks & Slippers and Finger-up Mittens, etc.
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| Secure the yarn on the holding peg then take it around the 1st peg on your loom. |
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| Next, take it around the last peg on the loom, then peg 2, then the 2nd to the last peg and so on...Always going to the outside of the peg. |
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| It should look like this when you are finished. The last peg wrapped will need to be held in front of the peg when locking it in on the next step. |
Using the Regular Knit Stitch, lock in your wraps by knitting one row. You can then begin decreasing and increasing the toe of your sock. The toe is worked on one side of the loom and the heel is worked on the opposite side.
Once your sock is long enough and beginning on the side opposite the holding peg, tighten each loop one by one.
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| The bottom of your sock will look like this. It's almost seamless. After blocking you won't be able to see it. |
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| This is the front, no seam! |
It's as easy as that! Happy Looming...
10 comments
Can you please tell me what pattern you are using for the sock in the pictures? It's beautiful!
Hello Tamara, I'm glad you like the socks, thank you! This pattern is one of my original designs and is not published yet. It will be published in my 2nd book which I am currently working on.
Hi Nicole! You mentioned that you didn't know who the first one was that came up with the Kitchener Cast On, so I thought I would let you know that it was me, Brenda Myers. I worked it out back in 2010 while trying to make my granddaughter seamless soles on slipper socks. You can read more about various projects that I've used it on over the years in this blog post: Kitchener Cast On for the Looms. Due to the difficulty of closing the cast on, I hesitated about publishing it until the afore mentioned blog post.
On a side note, the needle knitting term for this cast on is the Turkish Cast On. However, at the time I created it for the looms, I wasn't aware that there was a needle knitted version and since the closure was completely seamless I thought it resembled the Kitchener method of grafting, thus the name, Kitchener Cast On.
Hello Brenda, it's so good to hear from you! I miss talking to you on Rav but unfortunately, my business has grown so much that I don't have much time anymore to visit the group or do much else but work lol. I'm hoping to find more balance in the coming years. Thank you for sharing the story of your development of this cast-on for the loom. I will update my blog post to credit you with the development of this technique.
Your project is beautiful! Looking forward to your new book! I can't wait to get out my Cindwood loom and try this cast-on! Once the toe area is complete do you close the cast-on or do you wait until you finish the entire sock? Is there any reason not to close it quickly?
Thank you so much Rhonda. You can close the cast-on as soon as the total knitting is long enough to come together without stress on the knitting. This will give you the straightest stitches and most invisible seam. The only reason that I do not like to close the cast-on quickly is that you lose access to the bottom of the loom for holding. If you are a top knitter than this probably won't bother you, it drives me nuts lol. I usually close the sock right before I do the heel so that I can measure the foot length accurately. Hope this helps!
When you tighten the loops is it similar to lacing shoes (alternating one side then the other), and would this cast on work for just a simple tube sock?
Hello Sara! Yes I think you could compare it to tightening laces. Yes this method works with all socks worked from the bottom up.
do you have a you tube account i like to learn how you do it. thanks for sharing its beautiful
My YouTube account can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmxMjIq7uUsTIa2JxDtygxQ
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