Re-cap (or re-beanie) on last Wednesday

Last Wednesday a few interested viewers commented on my mention of an "advanced" method of cast on. You are probably already familiar with one or more useful methods of casting on and maybe like me, you just stick to the one you find easiest. Some years ago I was shown this method, but at the time I just thought, "too, too hard"! Then recently I came across a similar method (which turned out to be not just similar, but the same) and thought I would give it a go. It's not too hard, after all. A bit fiddly til you get the hang of it. A little more time consuming, but well worth it.

Here's a pic of where I'm up to ...

 

 

 

almost finished, in fact :)  I don't know if you can see how nice that cast on edge is, maybe you will have to just try it out. I guess the main advantage is that it is quite elastic, more so than my normal cast on using the thumb method.  Here's a link to some instructions from Knitty.  Start reading from the heading "Backwards loop cast on".  But here's one tip which is not mentioned, and, I think, is crucial. You must start off using a larger needle than what the pattern calls for, at least 2 sizes larger, and 3 is even better. You change to your smaller needle size when picking up the loops. Now you will have to read those instructions, to know what I am talking about :)

Note: I have no idea why the pink looks so bright. Another photographic lighting mystery :)