Untangling Knots

Tubular Cast On Method

A Mini Series of Stretchy Cast On Methods

The next CO method I tried was the Tubular Cast On. A lot of knitters swear by this one so I was expecting it to be a perfect stretchy cast on.

tmsco2

It’s not bad to work. The process is easy to work and it has the bonus of not having to guesstimate a tail like with the Long Tail CO. The edge it creates is quite pretty.

This CO takes a few rows to set up, but there are very few instances where that might be an issue. The rows of double knitting create a subtle roundness. I’m guessing that this would block flatter, but it’s not really all that noticeable.

tmsco1

As for it’s stretchy properties… Well, it kind of sucks in my opinion. It never completely relaxes with the ribbing. The ribbing on this swatch is 2 inches wide, but my cast on edge is 2.75 inches wide. The cast on edge does stretch like crazy (it stretched 5.5 inches), but it doesn’t snap back on it’s own. It remains stretched out until I give it a hard tug back into shape.

So would I use this one? Probably not. I think it could work when the ribbing is always going to be slightly stretched so the fact that the cast on edge doesn’t fold like the ribbing wouldn’t be noticeable. But having to tug it back into shape every time I stretch the edge is a deal breaker for me.

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Andi

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Comments

17 responses to “Tubular Cast On Method”

  1. Katie

    I really love that colour combo. What yarn are you using?

    Reply
    1. Andi

      Thanks. It’s leftover Cascade 220. I don’t have the color info for either anymore unfortunately.

      Reply
  2. mooncalf

    But which Tubular Cast on did you use? The one with the provisional start or the long-tail one? The long-tail version is stretchier. And much more of a PITA.

    I knit a hat (I think probably an Ysolda pattern) that recommended using the long-tail tubular cast on. I decided to do the other kind. Ta-dah, a hat that wouldn’t go over my head.

    bah

    Reply
    1. Andi

      Thanks. It’s leftover Cascade 220. I don’t have the color info for either anymore unfortunately.

      Reply
    2. Andi

      I used the long tail method. I’m surprised that you hat wouldn’t go over your head when you used this cast on because mine turned out so loose.

      Reply
      1. mooncalf

        I must have a really big head 🙂

        Reply
      2. mooncalf

        Oh no, wait. The provisional one wouldn’t go over my head. The long tail one was OK.

        Phew. Must have normal sized head. Thank goodness.

        Reply
  3. mooncalf

    But which Tubular Cast on did you use? The one with the provisional start or the long-tail one? The long-tail version is stretchier. And much more of a PITA.

    I knit a hat (I think probably an Ysolda pattern) that recommended using the long-tail tubular cast on. I decided to do the other kind. Ta-dah, a hat that wouldn’t go over my head.

    bah

    Reply
    1. Andi

      I used the long tail method. I’m surprised that you hat wouldn’t go over your head when you used this cast on because mine turned out so loose.

      Reply
      1. mooncalf

        I must have a really big head 🙂

        Reply
      2. mooncalf

        Oh no, wait. The provisional one wouldn’t go over my head. The long tail one was OK.

        Phew. Must have normal sized head. Thank goodness.

        Reply
  4. Saff

    Interesting… I’ve used the tubular cast on for my Hey Teach and I love the way it look generally aside for the fact that it has a slight tendency to sproing in (not out) — I wonder why it’s different.

    I used the method described in Nancie Wiseman’s The Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques which I think is the provisional method.

    For me, this is probably a new go-to cast on for 1×1 ribbing though – I really do like the way it looks (but sadly haven’t taken any photos yet).

    Reply
  5. Ellen

    I got the hang of the long-tail method recently and I love it for 1×1 ribbing. It looks way professional and as a bonus you have a tube to thread your ends into when you seam up.
    Not had any issue with stretchiness though, it seems to do just fine on the edges of jumpers, gloves etc.

    Reply
  6. Ellen

    I got the hang of the long-tail method recently and I love it for 1×1 ribbing. It looks way professional and as a bonus you have a tube to thread your ends into when you seam up.
    Not had any issue with stretchiness though, it seems to do just fine on the edges of jumpers, gloves etc.

    Reply
  7. Laurie in Maine

    Wondering which directions you followed for this sample?
    It doesn’t look quite… {right?} Provisional part gets removed after a few rows?
    This looks like all knit stitches instead of a K1, P1 rib – the stretchy version most of those knitters were probably swearing by. Curious! Off to explore more on this subject.

    Reply
    1. Andi

      It’s from the Knitter’s Handbook. There were no provisional stitches with this method.

      Reply

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