Before starting on your next project, swatch. We all know this, few of us do it but recently I learned a valuable lesson about swatching. I had swatched for this particular project, a lot. I’ve been swatching this thing since June and here it is the end of August, as I write, and I finally get to start the real thing!
That’s exactly what I did a couple of Wednesdays ago. This is a design that I am making up as I go along. It is a larger piece so I am trying to troubleshoot and plan ahead so I don’t have to rip out large sections of knitting. I have chosen my yarn, needle, stitch pattern and the size I want to make. After swatching and doing the math I was ready to go.
I decided to use the Double Chain Cast On because of the finished look it gives right from the start and it has a matching bind off.
This isn’t the slowest cast on, but it isn’t very fast either. It took probably the better part of an hour to cast 162 stitches. After lunch I started on the pattern. I was about four rows in and I didn’t like what I was seeing.
The pattern is 2 by 2 rib. The cast on had the stitches so spaced out that the stretchiness of the rib was non-existent. I decided to work a few more rows before making a decision. Four rows isn’t very many but eight in this gauge is enough to see how this cast on is going to act. Yeah, it didn’t get any better.
When I took the piece off of the needle to begin ripping, I measured its length, 36″ / 90 cm. It was supposed to by 28″ / 70 cm. This was not going to work.
Back to the drawing board for cast on and bind off. THIS book is where I began, and will from now on, and then I moved on to YouTube to see what I could find. The cast on I was wondering about didn’t have a matching bind off in the book but there was one on YouTube. She did a great job. I made a new swatch.
This new swatch uses the alternating cable cast on, in 2 x 2 rib and the matching bind off. I love it!
I recast on my new project and the results are exactly what I was hoping for!
Here you can see how much further apart the Double Chain Cast On sets the rib stitches. Both of these swatches are the same yarn, needles and number of stitches across. Double Chain Cast On on top and Alternating Cable Cast On on the bottom.
What is you favorite cast on and bind for ribbing? Share in the comments below.
Happy making!
Azariahs Fibre Arts 