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Fixing a Dropped Long-Tail Cast-On Stitch

Blog » Cast-Ons » Fixing a Dropped Long-Tail Cast-On Stitch

Fixing a Dropped Long-Tail Cast-On Stitch

Liat Gat - Founder

May 7, 2013

"You are simply amazing. In five-plus years of knitting, I have never even considered replicating a dropped cast-on stitch; I would always just start over. This video makes the actual construction of the stitch so clear and simple that all I can say is, 'Why didn’t I think of that?!' " – Brian M.

How many times have you dropped a stitch out of your cast-on as you are knitting the first row? And started over, right?

Well, now you don’t have to take the cast-on out and start over. Just carefully re-work the dropped stitch, following the technique in the video below:


How To Fix A Dropped Long-Tail Cast-On Stitch
How To Fix A Dropped Long-Tail Cast-On Stitch

This quick cast-on trick brought to you by…
Cast-Ons Ebook on Presale This Friday

This cast-on trick is a small part of the upcoming video knitting course, The KnitFreedom Video Guide To Cast-Ons, on sale this Friday, May 10th. Watch your email inbox for the presale info!

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Have you run into this problem before? Think this will clear it up? Leave a comment and let me know!

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51 thoughts on “Fixing a Dropped Long-Tail Cast-On Stitch”

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  1. Yes, I have taken out a whole cast-on because of a dropped stitch and I KNEW there had to be easy fix because, come on, but I just kept making a mess. THANKS!

  2. :00000
    I didn’t know there was a way to do this, but I’m so glad that I found your page! It’s a much better feeling to be knitting my first-ever sweater now that I didn’t already mess up in the first row. ;)
    You are officially amazing, thank you so much for this tutorial!

  3. Just had to say “THANK YOU” for this! I was already about 100 stitches into my first row, and was just about to give up and re-cast them all when I thought I’d Google it first… and your instructions came right up!

    Many, many thanks!

    Shannon

  4. Great to know how to do this right! I’d been faking it before and it worked out kinda good, but the added twist makes all the difference. Thanks!

  5. Liat, Why is the first row after a long tailed cast on usually a purl?
    Thank you for making easy to understand videos to save me when I am sitting alone at home, with my knitting in a mess, and don’t have a clue what to do! I feel like you are my private instructor!

    1. Aw, thanks, Elaine!

      The reason the first row after a long-tail cast-on is a purl (more accurately, it is a wrong-side row) is because when you do any kind of long-tail cast-on you are creating the first right-side row at the same time. Cool, huh?

      My new video course all about cast-ons explains this concept well and also shows it in a video. Check it out here: The KNITFreedom Video Guide to Cast-Ons. It’s on sale this weekend – I highly recommend it.

  6. i cant tell you how many years I have been knitting but the long tail cast on has made me pull out my hair just recently with a sweater with almost 400 stitches to cast on. I wish I had seen this video before I unravelled and put away for another day lol I am excited to start a new project today using your method. thank you so much Liat

  7. Hi Liat! Wow! Your understanding of knitting is complete and througho (sp?) and amazing! I hope to understand how these stitches and needles work through your videos over time. I can replicate the motor patterns very slowly, and then eventually the comprehension follows. The videos and your instruction are the ticket to learning knitting. Thank you for the teaching and the use of all these various types of technology to access them. You’re doing a phenomenal job of juggling the many aspects involved in getting it all done for students to access online. Keep it up! We need you!

    1. Thank you Kathy!! You make me SO happy – your comment is so encouraging! I am definitely juggling… I hope to someday divide these tasks so that I can spend more of my time making knitting videos… Thanks for your kudos! :)

  8. Life altering. I am about to cast on a project with over 300 stitches. This will give me more confidence that I won’t have to start over if I drop one. Thank you!

  9. OMG thanks for making this video, you would not believe how many times I accidentaly dropped a stitch and unravel the cast on to start over. THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

    YOU ARE AWESOME

  10. so clever, and glad to know how it works, like the above comments, I have knitted and had this problem and just started over! countless times! looking forward to the Friday special :)

  11. Heck, I didn’t even know that you’re supposed to pearl the first row of the long-tail cast on! I’ve got my credit card all warmed up for Friday!

    1. Hooray! See, you learned something new already! Now your projects won’t have a row of purl bumps along the front from the cast-on.

      By the way, I didn’t learn that for the longest time… to be honest, until I did the research for this ebook. ;)

    2. If you switch hands (hold the needle with your left and do your long tail cast on with your right), you can knit the first row without purl bumps (yay!). The first time feels a bit awkward, but it’s nice to have options.

  12. I’m gobsmacked! I have never been able to save a cast on once I’ve dropped a st. Always had to start over. I’m so pleased to have seen your remarkable idea!

    You make it look so easy, too. Now here’s a challenge for you – can you do this with a Twisted German (long tail) cast on? I think this might also be called a Norwegian Cast On. That’s the one I always use for socks now when I’m knitting cuff down.

    A lot of your videos and tips are rather old hat for me (I’m in my 60s and have been knitting for decades), so I’m always thrilled to find something new!

    Thanks so much!

    1. Hi Sande,

      Yay! I’m so glad I came up with something to challenge you a little. I will look into creating a follow-up video for a dropped Old Norwegian cast-on stitch. Stay tuned!

      And I know it’s not as fun to be getting mostly beginner/intermediate tips in your inbox, but the good thing is getting those done frees me up to make more advanced videos. So they’ll be coming!

  13. I KNEW there had to be a way! But I wasn’t able to find someone who could show me. Thanks you!

  14. Bless you, I’ve been wondering how to do this for the longest time. You are AWESOME!!!!! Can’t wait until FRiday.

  15. This is so great! I have been knitting for more than 30 years and if I had a dollar for every dropped cast-on stitch, I could increase my stash significantly! I am eagerly awaiting Friday for the opportunity to purchase your new ebook. It will join its fellows in the folder on my desktop labeled simply “Liat.” Thank you for your dedication to teaching.

    Linda Takagi
    Colorado Springs, CO

    1. Hi Linda! Oh, you are too sweet. I’m so happy to have you as such a dedicated student!

      I want you to know that since we are switching to a new website very soon, and a new desktop app, I didn’t make this ebook downloadable – it’s simply an online course. BUT that means less time that I spend creating 4 or 5 different PDF formats that are going to be replaced anyway, and more time spent filming new ebooks!

      As soon as app comes out, you’ll be able to access every class you have ever bought in the app (on your computer or mobile device). So just a heads’ up – you won’t be able to put it in your folder quite yet… but I still think you’ll be really pleased with it. It’s a fantastic resource.

  16. Brenda Gaines

    I’ll be out of state and away from my computer this week because I’m going to my granddaughter’s graduation. I’ll be back on Sunday. Will I still be able to get the video on sale?
    I love your instructions. I was finally able to make a sock without any holes or ugly mistakes. Now I have to figure out how to make it bigger around for hubby’s swollen feet, then on to two-at-a-time and, lacy or cabled or? patterns.
    Thanks.

    1. Hey Brenda,

      I love how you are getting creative with your socks! The two-at-a-time toe-up socks ebook class has a formula so that you can make the socks any size. And you are definitely ready for two-at-a-time – it’s not much more difficult than one-at-a-time, and it is twice as fast! Very satisfying.

      And about the sale: YES! The ebook will be on sale to subscribers all weekend long. When you get home from the graduation (congratulations, by the way!), check your inbox and you will see an email from me with a code for 25% off for the weekend sale.

  17. This so awesome. I was never able to figure it out. Once I had to cast on 1800 stitches in circular knitting. You can imagine how frustrated I was to have dropped one of the cast-on stitches. I tried to pick it up again, but it never looked right, but I figured, who is going to see that 1 stitch in 1800. I am so happy that I now have this video.

    1. Noooooo! See, THIS is why I made this video. It’s awful to drop a cast-on stitch- I’ve never been able to get it right until I sat down to figure it out once and for all. Glad this is going to help you!

  18. Martha Roseen

    I have to agree with Brian, and I’m not going to tell you how long I have been knitting! Thanks this will most helpful.

  19. You are simply amazing. In five-plus years of knitting, I have never even considered replicating a dropped cast-on stitch; I would always just start over. This video makes the actual construction of the stitch so clear and simple that all I can say is, “Why didn’t I think of that?”!

    1. Thank you Brian! This has bugged me for the longest time, but I’ve never taken the time to figure out how to reconstruct the stitch until now. And now I’m so happy that I “get” how the stitch works!

  20. Liat – I’ve been a subscriber to your Updates for several months now, and I just love how well you explain and demonstrate “sticky” knitting problems. I belong to a couple of knitting groups and encourage knitters who need “at home” help to check out your site. Instructions are crystal clear!
    Thanks!
    LaDonn

    1. Thank you LaDonn! Oh, you make me so happy. I’m delighted that you have been telling your knitting friends about my site – you have no idea how much that helps!

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