How to Cast On Knitting for Total Beginners
The long-tail cast-on at learner speed, including how much tail to leave.
Video library
Hand-picked from teachers who film close, talk slowly and repeat the motion. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play, so the page stays fast even with this many videos on it.
Showing 82 videos.
The long-tail cast-on at learner speed, including how much tail to leave.
A short, focused version of the same technique.
Precise and unhurried, from a long-running knitting-help series.
Another camera angle; useful if the first one did not click.
Explains why the edge comes out stretchy, and where that matters.
Slow hands, close camera.
Part of a full beginner series, so it fits with the videos either side.
A whole row worked at learning speed rather than demonstration speed.
Overhead camera, which answers “where does the needle actually go”.
Short and repeatable; good to loop while you practise.
Sits inside a structured seven-part course.
Another take on the same row, with tension advice.
Starts from holding the needles.
Compact and precise; explains the why as well as the how.
Literally slow motion. Watch this if the wrap direction confuses you.
A clean, standalone purl lesson.
Covers the common purl mistakes as well as the stitch itself.
The standard bind-off end to end, including securing the tail.
Explains what binding off is actually doing to the stitches.
Step by step, then again in slow motion.
A short, tidy demonstration of the standard method.
Aimed at getting a clean, stretchy edge first time.
Bookmark this one. Whenever an edge must stretch, the answer is here.
Three useful variants compared directly.
Both standard ribs in one video, with the yarn-position rule made explicit.
Rib worked flat, with hats and scarves in mind.
Good on the anatomy of a rib and why it pulls in.
A brisk, no-nonsense demonstration.
Seed stitch from scratch, including how to keep track of the offset.
The UK name for the same fabric, taught the UK way.
Slow and clear, with the finished fabric shown close up.
The two-by-two version, worked and explained.
The fix for the single most-asked beginner question.
Seven different approaches, so one of them will suit your project.
Step by step, with the cable needle held both ways.
A compact demonstration of a single crossing.
Starts with what a cable actually is before showing the mechanics.
Focused on the cable needle itself and how to hold it.
Two-, four- and eight-stitch cables, double crossings, and the needle-free method.
Longer and more thorough, good for a first cabled project.
What lace is, how holes are made, and how the counts stay balanced.
The single technique everything else in lace is built on.
The increase-and-decrease pairing, shown together.
Yarn-overs between knits, between purls, and everywhere in between.
A beginner-friendly first lace project with a short repeat.
Goes deeper into why yarn-overs behave differently in different places.
Includes the float-tension problem and how to actually solve it.
A short overview of how the two yarns are held.
Working two colours in one row to build a motif.
Covers the awkward case: stranding on a wrong-side row.
Two-handed stranding, which is the technique worth building toward.
A slow, simplified method for a first colourwork swatch.
One colour first, then how the second is introduced.
Long and thorough; the one to watch before starting a brioche project.
Includes the ladder problem and several fixes.
Ten minutes from cast-on to the first rounds.
Why a much longer needle is the answer to a much smaller tube.
Focused on the join itself — the step where twists happen.
Magic loop applied to an actual sock.
All the standard decreases in one place, close enough to see the lean.
The four you will use most, demonstrated back to back.
A direct comparison of the two, and when each belongs.
Why mirrored decreases matter on a shaped edge.
m1L, m1R, k2tog and ssk used together in real shaping.
If you only learn one decrease first, learn this one.
Both tools shown, on stockinette and on ribbing.
The same rescue from the other side — the part that confuses people.
A quick crochet-hook method that avoids ripping back.
Covers both stitch types in one go.
Aimed squarely at people who have just dropped their first one.
Makes the case, then shows the measuring properly.
Stitch gauge and row gauge, measured correctly.
What to do once you know your swatch is wrong.
Why your swatch lied to you.
The short version, if you just want the procedure.
The clearest side-by-side comparison for people choosing a style.
Knit and purl in both styles, plus where each came from.
A focused lesson on holding the yarn in the left hand.
Short and direct: just the two motions, one after the other.
Good on the practical consequences: tension, speed, and when to switch.
Picking versus throwing, explained simply.
Part of a beginner teaching series.
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