I always think knitting is so interesting because everyone has their own unique way of doing things. This can result in a terrifying amount of cast-on and cast-off techniques, but they are often fairly similar at the root of it. When I saw this Turkish Cast-on, which is a new-to-me approach, it instantly made me think of a simpler version of Judy’s Magic Cast-on!
- Appropriate weight yarn
- Appropriate gauge needles
This approach has the benefit of simplicity, as you get to wrap the yarn around both needles at the same time! You also only have to use the working end of the yarn, which is less confusing than Judy’s, which uses both a tail and the working end. As a result, I think I could quickly learn to do this cast-on from memory, which is kind of nice.
I did end up surfing the Internet looking for other opinions on these similar but different techniques, and it really seems to come down to personal preference. People often thought that the technique they learned first was the easier one, and there were definitely knitters in both camps. However, I did find a site that provided a more unbiased comparison, and they reported that the Turkish cast-on is a little looser on the initial row. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, I think you could probably make the argument that you would never be able to tell which was used without looking at both techniques side by side. Because of that, I’d say feel free to choose the techniques that make you happiest! Do you ever get overwhelmed with all of the options out there? How do you choose which to use?
Until next time, happy crafting!