The Purl Cable Cast-On

I hope you are enjoying making the Poppies I was chatting about last time – and thank you to everyone who has already sent in their poppies to the organisers. They have been so pleased to have been receiving poppies from far and wide.

I managed to get 80 poppies from the yarn I had, ably assisted by Anna who wanted to join in! They were fun to make and the number seems very appropriate for the 80th anniversary display. Our grandsons were a tremendous help with finding buttons for the centres, too – while also picking out lots for their own collections. Button boxes are always such fun, aren’t they!

I had a query about why I chose the Purl Cable Cast-On for the Poppy Flower pattern, so I thought that would be a good topic for today’s blogpost.

I always enjoy exploring new cast-ons and there are certainly lots to choose from – and they don't need to be complicated to be effective. You can even cast-on for a new project just by wrapping your yarn around a needle to form a series of loops! We do that when we work a Figure-of-Eight Circular Cast-On, for example, with yarn wrapped first around a needle at the front and then a second one at the back. 

I used this method for the Joules & Joulietta Hot Water Bottle Cover you can see above, and also for the oval tablemat in the Mendip Placemats pattern and it works very well for both of those.

Many cast-ons start in a similar way but then add an extra step by immediately knitting or purling into the loops to stabilise them. The best example of that is the Thumb Cast-On, where you form a loop around your thumb and then work the stitch from your first row into that. When you have finished, you have worked both the cast-on and the first row of knitting and are now at the far left of your work.

However, there is a second type of cast-on, where you mount stitches directly onto the needle. One example of that is the Knitted Cast-On that most beginners learn when they first start knitting.

The Cable Cast-On is a variation of this, with stitches being made by inserting the needle not into the previous stitch but in-between the two previous stitches instead. This gives a very attractive edge which resembles a twisted rope. It is especially useful when you want to limit the amount of stretch for an item, such as for the ends of a scarf. If you look at the photo of the Lamberhurst Scarf above you can see what a nicely-defined edge this produces.

The Cable Cast-On can be worked either with knit stitches or with purls, but the Purl Cable Cast-On has three advantages. Firstly, it adds an extra decorative touch with a lovely series of purl bumps along the leading edge, as you can see in the photo of the bunch of poppies above.

Secondly, it tends to snuggle up really nicely with the first row of knitting to give extra definition and support. This can be very useful for the lower edge of sweaters and also for scarves & shawls which benefit from a well-defined edge.
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Then thirdly, it helps prevent the edge from bending outwards when working in Stocking Stitch. For these poppies, the Purl Cable Cast-On has given a very stable leading edge with a slight inward roll to complement the outer shaping of the flower.

So how do you work this? The Purl Cable Cast-On looks quite complicated but essentially you establish two stitches on your needle, then you bring your needle between the last two stitches to form a new loop. As you work, the yarn wraps around the base of each one to tighten it up and form a little 'purl bump', which is what gives this cast-on such an attractive appearance.

NB: Note that in the diagram below I have drawn each stitch with just a simple loop instead of the full working for the stitch. However, hopefully this will show you the process:

Simplified Diagram to show the Purl Cable Cast-On

• Start with a simple loop or slip knot, put it onto your needle and purl into it. Slip that stitch onto the left needle and you are now ready to start.
• Bring your right needle tip behind the work between the last two stitches, then wrap it as if to purl. Draw the loop through to the back and mount it onto the left needle as before.
• Then repeat this last step to cast-on more stitches, spacing them apart slightly with your thumb or finger to ensure that the cast-on edge does not pull in too tightly.
• Continue until you have all stitches you require plus an extra stitch at each end. Then on the next row or round, work the edge stitches together with the next one to neaten the slightly weak end stitches.

And that’s it! It is actually quite an easy cast-on once you have it started and it does give a pretty result. Give it a try for your next Poppy and see if you like it! And if you haven’t downloaded the pattern yet, you can find it here.

Until next time – Happy Knitting!

Moira

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Keywords: # Cast-on, Purl Cable Cast-on, knitted flower, flowers, poppy flower, poppies,