Provisional Cast On

The video demos how to create a provisional cast on.

Instructions:

To create a provisional cast on, first you’ll need a crochet hook of a similar size to the needles you’ll be knitting with. You’ll also need a bit of waste yarn to crochet with. Choose a yarn that isn’t too fuzzy or that will felt easily. A nice, smooth strand of yarn is best.

Chain a few more stitches than required for the amount of stitches you will be casting on.

Once you’ve created your crochet chain, take a moment to identify the back bumps of the chained stitches. You can see in the video that I turn the chained length to both sides to show the smooth side versus the bumpy side. Now that you’ve found the bumps, insert your needle into the bump to pick it up and knit a stitch. Repeat for as many cast on stitches as your pattern calls for.

The waste yarn will remain in the knitted stitches until you are ready to remove it. Check out the “Creating a waistband with a provisional cast on” video to see how you can use this method to create a waistband.

The provisional cast on is used in the Utopia Reversible Skirt pattern.