Cast on, get it? (OK, sorry.)
Nothing is more aggravating than casting on using the long tail method and running out of yarn before you have the requisite number of stitches. As a general rule of thumb, you use 3 times the width of your project. For example, if your piece will measure 21″, use a 63″ tail of yarn to cast on. Better to have too much than too little. If your project will require seaming, consider adding an additional 12″ or so to use for that.
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I learned another great trick for the long tail cast on. If you have 40 cast on stitches, you can wrap the yarn around and round the needle 40 times to act as 40 stitches, and then leave your weave-in tail after that. You pull off the yarn overs and there’s your amount of yarn necessary to cast on the 40 sts. May have learned it from the Knitty Gritty show on DIY network. It’s great for neat helpful tricks.
Sonya, that’s a terrific little trick! Thanks!
Linda
Meg Swansen also showed a trick for fudging the long tail cast on with the other end of the tail, on the DVD for the Baby Surprise Jacket. I’ll have to see how she did it, but she says that way she never runs out of yarn and in the end it’s hard to tell.
Trish
I’m glad you posted that rule because I’m starting a project soon that requires a long tail cast on. Now I know I won’t run out of yarn!