A new month brings a pattern that will make a beautiful gift for a new arrival. The technique this month is the provisional cast on, and we are lucky that Jen Arnall-Culliford gives us video tutorials for not one but two different options: the crochet provisional cast on and Judy’s Magic Cast On.
Feel free to share your experiences and questions here.
That blanket is just beautiful! I use that wrapped cast on for projects large and small.
Love #AYOT
What a pretty little blanket.
I’ve used Judy’s Magic Cast On before, so I thought I’d try the crochet one. Loved it! Super easy! Problem was I remembered I needed to cast on 132 stitches, but when I started knitting I realized it was supposed to be 136. So I smugly thought to myself that no one will know that I added 4 extra stitches, and moved on.
Then I woke up today and realized that when I ripped off the crochet row, how likely would my four extra stitches hold up. And would I be happy to discover my error now, or when I’ve completed the body. sigh Frogging time.
Oh no, but it is entirely possible that those 4 would unzip happily, and even if not, you could snip them if needs be and the rest would still unzip… but you’ve likely ripped already anyway! Just thought it worth mentioning… 
I’m loving the way the crochet cast on works–so tidy! Your technique, Jen, really transformed my feelings about crochet cast on. THANK YOU!
So not mine!! But I’m thrilled you like the video.
Just in case this is helpful for anyone else…
You can absolutely knit a bit on the body of the blanket and then switch to working the first edging before the body is complete. This allows you to check how much yarn the edging uses, so that you can use as much as possible in the body of the blanket - leaving just enough for the second edging.
AND, please don’t forget to go back and look at the June video tutorial on the knitted-on edging. The section with the yellow yarn is all geared towards this blanket, and shows the cast on as well as how to work the double joins.
Hope that’s helpful!
Jen x
Thanks. I was already thinking about how I can maximize the use of this beautiful yarn. Perfect!
I’ve cast on this beautiful blanket and gotten about 36 rows done!! I’m loving this pattern. I’m using Knit Picks Swish yarn in sugar plum!!! It will be my newest grand daughter’s first
I’m going to stop the center part now that I’m halfway done so I can do the
juicy lace edge part. Unzipping the provisional cast on = GOOD TIMES.
That’s looking really beautiful!
Help! I’ve unzipped and it went smoothly but now I seem to have one fewer stitch than I started with. I feel like I’m supposed to something with the tail at the beginning of the row.
More help! I also can’t seem to find the video for the cable cast on.
When you undo a provisional cast on you will always be missing a stitch.
I cannot find my PDF now but perhaps the tail is used in some way to make the base for the extra stitch.
Thanks Nell. I checked the pattern file but didn’t find anything. I did check the count but it seems correct with 136 stitches–not the 135 that I have. I have also noticed that my stitches from the crochet cast on don’t seem to be in proper alignment with the way they would normally looked if I had simply cast on and started working. Intuitively, this seems correct to me but for some reason my brain is not working as mechanically as it usually does (I can usually “read” exactly what is going on).
And that is correct, your stitches are upside down now, looking a bit off, and as far as I have been able to figure out with a provisional cast on, there is always one fewer stitch.
If you look at your outspread hand, imagine that the fingers are the stitches that you worked up. The spaces between are the between stitch that you’ve now picked up - 4 stitches up, 3 stitches down.
edited for clarity.
Thank you! That’s the visual I needed to kick my brain into gear. I decided to simply loop the tail around the needle and secure it by pulling it between the tail stitch and the next stitch. Now I think I’ll get a glass of wine and figure out the cable cast on. I couldn’t find “June’s video” but I found another how to that makes total sense.
This learning thing is fun!
One more quick question. I’ve just started the edging (the wine helped!) and I am assuming that I am slipping the first stitch of the WS row (the ssk) purlwise.
Not of the ssk. Those are slipped as if to knit. I double checked the terms at the top of the pattern, which I just located
