Check-In Post - April 27th 2026

[badly_knitted]

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.


This Week's Question: What do you wish you could get right first time, every time?


If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!

Comments

[badly_knitted]

Knitted two and a half bees, not ideal, but I was slow today and I needed to get out in the garden for a while, trying to clear up a pile of fuchsia and other stuff my friend cut down but left on the garden, on top of my favourite ground cover geranium without telling me *sigh* I dragged it off and cleared more than half, but now it's raining so what's left will get soggy and harder to deal with.

[althea_valara]

What do you wish you could get right first time, every time?

TAIL LENGTH FOR THE LONG-TAIL CAST ON. It's either way too long, or too short (any number of stitches too short is too short!). I need to use the trick about using two separate balls/tails to cast on more often.

I am AHHHHH! because end of month is approaching and have I finished anything for Nerdopolis? I have not. I have Plans but I need to find the time to do them. Most of the Plans are for quick things, and I have at least a bit more work to do today so won't be crafting this afternoon. Maybe this evening, maybe tomorrow.

[badly_knitted]

I've never done the long tail cast on, I'll have to look into that, see if it might work for some projects. Because I mostly knit sweaters, I like a firm, tight cast on to keep the rib from going floppy. I don't know what result the long-tail cast on gives.

Good luck in fitting a bit of crafting in before the end of the month! Only three more days, where did April go?

[althea_valara]

There's a way to cast on Long Tail in rib, but I only know the knit (regular) method of Long Tail.

Long Tail is my default cast-on. It's the one I was taught when I took knitting classes, and also was the first one in the book when I attempted to self-teach myself knitting about 10 years prior to my class. It does make a stable cast-on. How stretchy it is depends. Some say it's really stretchy, others say NOPE. The trick is in how far apart you space your stitches when casting on - that controls the stretchiness. For most things, I don't bother controlling my spacing, but if I want something stretchy, I either use Long Tail with spacing about a pinky finger's nail apart, or I do German Twisted Cast On, which is a type of long tail cast on, but has an extra move in it which makes it even stretchier.

I can also do the following cast ons:
* Knitted
* Cable Cast-on (but I don't like it much)
* Backwards Loop (only used for casting on in the middle of a project, because it's too flimsy otherwise)
* Provisional cast-on using a crocheted chain (I crochet AROUND the needle rather than make a chain and pick up stitches in it)
* Judy's Magic Cast-on

I believe I also did the Turkish/Figure 8 cast-on once when Judy's wouldn't work for the project I was doing, but I don't remember how to do it. All the others I can do without thinking, with the exception of Judy's, I need to think about that one before I get into the rhythm of it.

When I teach, I usually do start with Long Tail. It's a one-needle cast-on and makes a stable foundation to work off of. I have also tried teaching the knitted cast-on when Long Tail wasn't working. For my upcoming class, I'm going to try Long Tail first, and then fall back to Knitted if that doesn't work.

Joan Schrouder (a very knowledgable knitter who often posts on Ravelry; I have learned a LOT from reading her posts!) says she usually starts hats/sweaters ABOVE the ribbing (or below, if working top-down) by starting with a provisional cast-on and going right to the body. Then she will do the ribbing last. Benefits to this is you can adjust the ribbing length to your preferences easier, and also you'll then be binding off, so you can bind off in pattern for a ribbing that looks nice and doesn't flare/pull-in. My current knitted tee project won't use this trick due to how it is designed (mostly icord edging) but I thought I'd mention it, because it DOES sound like a useful trick.

[badly_knitted]

Oof, I had no idea there were so many kinds of cast-on, and I've been knitting for more than 45 years! I don't even know what my style of casting on is called, it's just the way my mum taught me and I've never had any need to learn another way, because it's worked for everything I've made (I started out making baby clothes for my sister's son and daughter). Now I mainly knit clothes for myself, or make small novelties like the bees and mice.

One of these days I'll look for tutorials for some of the other kinds, just to expand my knowledge.

[solstice_lilac]

AAHHHHHH this was the thing I was going to reply, too. Tail length for the long-tail cast on!! There is a trick for it that I can NEVER remember, even though the long-tail cast on was the first thing I learned and the first one I go to unless a pattern specifically asks for something else!

[althea_valara]

If you wrap the tail around the needle for the number of stitches you need to cast on, that's about the proper length. But that takes more work, so I just guessimate, and always guess poorly.

You can also use two skeins, or both ends from one skein. If I do that, I make my slip knot using both ends, just far enough in to have enough for weaving in later. Do the cast-on as normal, then cut ONE of the ends. The other end is now your working yarn, and you don't have to do any estimating at all. (I treat the two strands from the slip knot as one stitch; it does add a little bulk but is not bad because it's just one stitch.)