[Gutenberg 26113] • Handbook of Wool Knitting and Crochet

Illustrated. This edition is optimized for the Kindle.

Excerpt: "The first thing to be done in knitting is to cast on or, as it is sometimes called, to "set up the foundation." (Figure 1). There are several methods for this, the following being that preferred and generally used by the writer: Leave a spare end of thread, sufficient for the number of stitches you wish to cast on, lying toward the left, the spool or ball from which the working-thread is drawn being at the right. Lay the thread between the little finger and the third of the left hand; bring the working-thread across the palm of the hand, around the thumb and back between the forefinger and second finger; bend the forefinger over this thread (which passes between it and the second finger), pass it under the thread which crosses the palm of the hand, and then draw the forefinger back, or straighten it, which will give you a loop with crossed threads. Put the needle under the lower part of this loop, which draws from the ball, bring the working-thread (or ball-thread) around the point of needle from right to left, as in plain knitting, draw it back through the loop, slip off the latter, and draw up the left thread. Then proceed to make the crossed loop and knit it off in the same way for the next and following stitches. The whole operation is very simple, although the instructions seem long because explicit. Take your needle and yarn or thread and follow them through carefully, and you will very soon master the "crossed casting on.""