When to Use a Cable Cast On

The cable cast on produces a nice even edge. It is uniform and looks somewhat like a cord. It forms a sturdy edge while allowing some elasticity.  An ideal use is for ribbed edges.

You may find this a bit more tedious than some of the other methods. As with most knitting, the more you do it, the better you get at it.

To start this cast on, begin with a slip knot on the left needle.

• Insert the right needle knitwise into the stitch on the left needle.  Wrap the yarn around the right needle as if to knit. 
• Draw the yarn through the first stitch to make a new stitch, but do not drop the stitch from the left needle.
• Slip the new stitch to the left needle.

Now you have 2 stitches on the left needle.

• Insert the right needle between the two stitches on the left needle.  Wrap the yarn around the right needle as if to knit and pull the yarn through to make a new stitch. 
  
• Place the new stitch on the left needle. 
  
• Insert the right needle in between the last two stitches on the left needle and continue adding stitches until you have the total number desired.

The video below does a nice job of demonstrating how to do the cable cast on:

So when would you use this cast on method?

It might look great with a seed stitch cuff where the number of stitches determine the circumference of the cuff - hopefully large enough to easily get your hand through.  My favorite use for this method is with ribbing.

Experiment with this one. The video demonstrates the knit version. You can also do a purl version. The only difference is the right needle tip is inserted between the first two stitches on the left needle from the back to the front and purl the stitch.

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