Longtail Cast On for Beginners

The longtail cast on is a great all-purpose cast on. It's stretchy, lays flat and looks pretty darn nice too! Because it's all-around awesome, make the longtail your default cast on. It won't fail you. But it can be a bit tricky to do at first. So, follow along and take it slow: clamp down, make a diamond shape, touch your thumb. (These terms only make sense after you watch the video!).

[cloverairell]

I've only just started knitting but i've found many confusing and needlesly complicated instructions for this long tail cast. thank you for this simplified version that works so well

[UsernameBarbF]

Great video! I LOVE that you got right to the point (no yammering about where the dog is, doing laundry, etc.). And your slow movements as you demonstrated each step were fantastic! Your video has to be the best one out there for demonstrating this cast on! Thanks so much for taking the time to help us!

[meganfitzpatrick]

Casting on like this (like my grandmother used to) has been a hidden secret in my mind for about 25+ years since my grandma taught me knitting as a kid! She would always cast on for me. I finally decided to pick up knitting again and I cant believe I know how to do this now! Thank you for your clear video!

[eyeoftherose]

I love the "hack" of wrapping it around the needle to get the desired length ... I am attempting to do a blanket that calls for casting on 124 stitches. I was dreading figuring out the math for that. Your method is so much easier. Thank you!

[RenAtkins]

I knit so rarely that I always forget how to cast on, and i always come back to this video.⭐️

[coniferouss]

this is probably the only tutorial for the long tail cast on I've actually been able to understand

[maureenwohlfrom]

I keep coming back to this video every single time I’m wanting to start a knitting project with long tail cast on. She gives clear directions and tells you exactly why you want to have certain placements with the yarn.

[lcron]

First video I've seen where someone explains how to determine the length of the "longtail". Thank you! Awesome instructions!

[ashleyk.]

I have watched at least 10 videos trying to figure this out and I watch yours 2 times and get it. Thank you!

[rustynutter]

Fascinating – been knitting for 50 years and have never learned the long-tail cast on!

[MegaThemeg]

Thanks for explaining that the long-tail yarn faces you, and the ball yarn is in the back! That was the info I was looking for.

[bethe]

easiest explanation I've seen. I've always "knitted" my cast on. It makes a great finish edge but it's not nearly as stretchy as other cast on methods I've read about. So, glad you took the mystery out of this for me.

[flashymuffin]

thank you! My grandma’s used to teach me to knit, one of them lived really close and the other 3 hours away. when the one who lived really close died, i couldn’t knit as much because i wasn’t the best at it without assistance. i decided to get back into it and this has really helped me :D

[aljmayr]

oh man thank you for this, i'm a beginner knitter and this is the first video out of about half a dozen that actually made me understand what i was supposed to do with this method

[Lialeveille]

First video I have seen where someone actually shows me how to hold my yarn for this type of cast on. Everyone else just says start with a sling shot and then grab their yarn and also nobody ever told me how to figure out the length of the yarn I need. Thank you. I can't tell you how many video's I've watched to try and learn this. I had it down pat after watching your video just a few times. Very well done.

[lee-annegraham]

Great video! I was able to pick it up pretty quickly. My only suggesting is that reiterating that the long tail should always be looping over your thumb would be super helpful. Once I figured that out I was going along great. Thanks again!

[susannelson]

Don't pay any attention to the negative comments ... you did an amazing job in explaining this and mine turned out great. One thing I wanted to mention and that was how to determine the length of the long tail. My project called for 225 cast on stitches and I found it a lot easier to determine the length I needed by doing the math calculations which were easy to do. I found a tutorial for this on the internet. Thanks again for the great tutorial!

[lei-lei-marie]

So much yes. you're spectacular in your video teaching technique. I can crochet like nothing else but always had a hard time catching on to knitting...two sticks...what is this madness?? Until now the skill has evaded me, no matter how many videos I suffered through.
You, my lovely individual, have changed that. Thank you ever so much! 12 million gold stars for you.

[fcqwnrf]

She's one of the best out there demonstrating the long tail cast on. Hope you keep on demonstrating knitting stitches such as decreasing, changing colors of yarn etc....
Thanks for helping us!

[kristenkidd]

ive seen several ways to do this type of cast on, and ive always had trouble figuring it out. while watching this video, i successfully completed my first long tail cast on. thank you!!