I like knitting my toys in the round to avoid too much sewing after knitting. Therefore, you can always see a circular cast on in my knitting patterns to start a project because I knit the toys in the round. If you like knitting socks, possibly you already know how to make a circular cast-on. However, if you have no idea, let me explain it here.
Two ways to make a circular cast-on:
Circular cast on using a knitting needle *My favourite way
Circular cast on using a crochet hook
Pros & cons of using a knitting needle and a crochet hook for circular cast-on
Circular Cast On | Using a knitting needle | Using a crochet hook |
Pros | You don't need extra tools to start, just the knitting needle which will be used for knitting later on. | Easy for people who used to crochet or make amigurumi toys. |
Cons | Need some practice to make all the stitches the same size. | You need to have a crochet hook that is the same size as the knitting needle. |
Circular cast on using a knitting needle
Prepare four knitting needles and yarn.
Step 1: Begin by making a loop on your hand. The tail of the yarn should be on the top.
Step 2: Hold this loop with your fingers as shown in the photo. Use a needle to pick up the working yarn clockwise. Hold it tight with the first finger of your right hand.
Step 3: With the finger still holding the working yarn, insert the point of the needle into the loop.
Step 4: Pick up the working yarn clockwise.
Step 5: Take the stitch out from the loop.
Step 6: Now, you have two stitches on the needle. You will get even numbers of stitches using this cast-on method.
Step 7: Repeat steps 2 - 6 to create the desired number of stitches.
Step 8: Pull the yarn tail to tighten the loop.
Step 9: Divide the stitches into 3 or 4 needles evenly.
Step 10: Start knitting. Remember that always knit with a working needle (an extra needle).
Step 11: After knitting one round, it is ready for increasing stitches.
Circular cast on using a crochet hook
Prepare a crochet hook, yarn, and knitting needles.
Step 1: Begin by making a loop on your hand. The tail of the yarn should be on the top.
Step 2: Hold the loop tight. Insert the crochet hook into the loop.
Step 3: Pick up the working yarn with the hook.
Step 4: Pull it out from the loop. So, you create a loop on your crochet hook.
Step 5: Pick up the working yarn again.
Step 6: Bring it through the first loop you created. So, this is the first stitch.
Step 7: Repeat steps 2 - 5 to create the desired number of stitches.
Step 8: Pull the yarn tail to tighten the loop.
Step 9: Divide the stitches into 3 or 4 knitting needles evenly.
Important: Use a proper size crochet hook for the cast-on to prevent the stitches from being too big or too small. This is an example of using a crochet hook which is too thick.
*After I changed the crochet hook, the loops were all in a good size for my knitting needles.
Step 10: After knitting one round, it is ready for increasing stitches.
Conclusion
Both of these two circular cast-on methods create almost the same outlook. However, I like using knitting needles to do it because I don't have to take my crochet hook out. And I like the more invisible look of the circular cast-on.
