What is the best cst-on method to use when starting a cable in the first row of a project?

This is a personal question and I am surprise we all have not jumped on this one. It is summer and many folks are busy with other things.

I personally would use a long tail cast-on as it gives good stretch.

Now I am sure someone else will tell you another cast-on.

I would also knit up a swatch and wash and block it to see how it handles and if you like it.

If you are actually doing a cable cross in the first row of your pattern, I would go with a fairly solid cast-on such as the long-tail that Knitski suggested. Most patterns I have used would have you do one or two set-up rows to establish where your cables would be before doing any cable crossing.

My default cast-on in the backward e, or loop cast-on, which would be way too unstable for a cable cross. I like it because it is fast, and very flexible -- the long-tail cast-on is actually the backward loop with a stitch worked into it.

A firm cast-on is the cable cast-on, but it does not have much give. You could also do a knit cast-on or a purl cast-on.

This may be one of those things you need to figure out for yourself in terms of what combination of cast on and first-row pattern gives you the result you want. Will the LT cast on do that? What if you need the first row to be a RS row? Is there a cast on that's sufficiently reversible to give you a RS first row that you like? Is it possible to cast on "in pattern" so that you can use your preferred cast on regardless of whether the first row is a RS or WS?

The cast on I used in this situation for Level I worked perfectly well. If I were to do it all over, I might select a different cast on, not because I chose the "wrong" cast on or a less acceptable cast on, but simply because I discovered a method I like better that has to do with personal aesthetics.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rox,

Thanks Rox for your response. What method did you use for Level I? The long tail?

I used the cable cast on for that particular swatch. The swatch looks lovely, but it isn't a cast on I typically choose to use, which is why I said that if I were doing it today, I would choose a different cast on. The thing is, if I hadn't gone through Level I, and tried out all the cast on methods that made sense at the time, I would never have come to learn the method I would use if I were in that particular knitting situation today.

One of the key learning points of Level I is to notice how cast on methods differ, how some are the same or nearly the same on both sides, while others look different on each side. From there, you get to make choices about when *you* might choose to use cast on method A vs cast on method B. There isn't a right or wrong cast on method, as far as I know. What's important is that you have a reason for selecting the cast on method you chose other than, "It's the only one I know."

Most knitters going through Level I do each swatch more than once, in part to decide not just which one has "better" knitting, but to decide things like which techniques they like using better.

If what you would like to use is the long tail cast on (never mind what I would choose to use, it's irrelevant), then you should look into whether or not you like the look of the first row as the RS. If not, then look into alternate versions of the LT cast on that allow you to get an edge you like better on that first row. Most cast on methods do have variations that allow you to manipulate the appearance of the edge on that first row.

Thank you once again Rox for your input. I have been using the cable cast on, but wanted other suggestions. I need to go back to my cast on samples - once I find them. Are you a master knitter now?

I've been in end-of-Level-II limbo for a while. I made a push to finish back in March before the kids went on spring break, but didn't quite make it, and then it's been languishing since. I'm finishing up a few things and then I want to get that thing in the binder and out of my house.