Cast-On Methods for the Knitting Board

Cast-on Methods for the Knitting Board

There are a number of cast-on methods you can use to start your projects when you knit on a knitting board. Which one you use depends both on preference and also on the type of project you are working on. Below is a quick summary of some of the different types of cast-on techniques to help you choose which one is right for the project you are working on. It is recommended that you try each of the different methods to help you determine which ones work the best for you.

Cast-on Tips

Here are several tips to help you with your casting on.

Follow good loom knitting habits when casting on.
Strive to create a firm cast-on edge for your project.
Casting on with a double strand of yarn may create a firmer edge.
Make sure that the cast-on edge is not too tight or it will end up unraveling.
Make sure that the cast-on edge is not too loose or it will flair and be unattractive.
If you tend to cast-on too tightly, consider casting on on a larger gauge loom and then moving your project back to the size loom you need to knit your project on.
Cotton, silk and other yarns that are not flexible or springy will need an even firmer cast-on edge. Two ways to do ensure this are:
Use a smaller gauge loom
Cast-on few stitches and then increase to the required number after the edging or last row of ribbing
Use a stitch marker to mark every ten stitches when casting on a large number of stitches. This will help with your counting.
Try to leave a tail that is 12-16 inches long for sewing seams. Don't forget for long tail cast-on to leave this tail in addition to the tail you are going to knit.

Cable Cast-on Method

The Cable cast-on method creates a cast-on similar to the cable cast-on in needle knitting. It creates a sturdy edge that is elastic that is perfect for ordinary edges, end of rows and ribbing. Thank you, Becky Hanson, for taking the time to work this out for the community.

Tools needed

Knitting board
Crochet hook

Before casting-on, review the good loom knitting habits. It's important not to wrap tightly.

Tie a slip knot leaving a 3-inch tail and place on peg 2.
Bring the working yarn to the outside of the knitting board.
Pass the crochet hook through the slip knot that is on peg 2 from the inside of the knitting board and crochet a loop grabbing the working yarn from the front.
Place the loop on your crochet hook on peg 4.
Go between the pegs and grab the working yarn with your crochet hook, crochet a loop and place it on peg 6.
Repeat step 5 until you have wraps on all of the pegs on both sides of the knitting board.
Put the chain that is on the crochet hook on peg 2 so that there are two wraps on that peg.

From the front of the knitting board, you will see two wraps on each peg. Knit off all pegs. Wrap the board with your stitch pattern.

Stitches for the Knitting Board

The knitting board creates a warm, double-knitted fabric. Unless noted, stitches are the same on each side. Written instructions are given for the each stitch and stitch pattern.

How to Wrap the Board

To setup stitches on the knitting board, you will need to move back and forth across the two rakes. The pegs on the bottom are the "odd numbered" pegs and the pegs on the top are the "even numbered" pegs. If directions call for you to start on an even numbered peg, your next peg will be an odd numbered peg and vice versa.
On the board below, you can see how the pegs are numbered. If you are doing a diagonal wrap, the wrap will go around the outside of the peg and the stitch patterns will use stitches worked through the front loop. If you are doing a figured eight wrap, the wrap will wrap around the peg (e-wrap) and the stitch patterns will use stitches worked through the back loop. This is true whether the wrap is placed above of below the wrap already on the peg.

For example, Stockinette stitch pattern wrapped with a diagonal method calls for you to wrap every other peg from top to bottom with a wrap that goes around the outside of each peg. This means you will wrap the pegs in the following order going from left to right: 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19. For the way back, you will wrap the empty pegs in the following order: bring the yarn straight up to 20 then: 17, 16, 13, 12, 9, 8, 5, 4, 1.

Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical Stitches and Stitch Patterns

Most stitches patterns on the knitting board look similar on both sides of the fabric. These are referred to as symmetrical stitch patterns. How are they similar? Here's an example:

Double Rib

Diagonal Wrap Method
One side: K3, *P2, K2; rep from *, end K3
Other side: K2, *P2, K2; rep from *, end K2

Box Wrap Method
One Side: K1, *P2, K2; rep from *, end K1
Other side: K2, *P2, K2; rep from *, end K2

The asymmetrical patterns will look different on each side, not similar like above. Here are a few that have asymmetrical patterns:

Crossed stitches (cross/twist stitches and cable stitches)
Asymmetrical Rib stitch pattern
Open Rib stitch pattern

In terms of how you wrap the board, symmetrical stitch patterns have a similar wrapping pattern going from left to right as they do going from right to left. Asymmetrical stitch patterns differ in each direction.
If there's a stitch or stitch pattern that you're interested in that isn't listed or if you would like to add a stitch pattern that you own the copyright to, please contact us.

Basic Stitches

The knitting board, unlike the round loom and rake, sets up an entire row for a stitch pattern by wrapping all of the pegs, moving back and forth across the rakes until all pegs are wrapped. The basic stitches noted on this site will help you determine which wrapping method to use for your stitch patterns. The two most common are the knit stitch (diagonal wrap) and the knit tbl stitch (figure eight (e-wrap) wrap) both of which wrap the working yarn above the current wrap on the peg.
Some knitting board knitters substitute the figure eight wrap (knit tbl stitch) for the diagonal wrap (knit stitch) in patterns. This will change the gauge so be sure to check the measurement before working on your item so that your item will be the correct size.

The order in which you wrap the pegs on the knitting board will create stitch patterns with the knit/knit tbl stitches, purl stitches and/or slip stitches. If you would like an entire row to be purled or purled through the back loop, though, you will need to change how you wrap each peg. You will still use a diagonal or figure eight wrap but the placement of the wrap will be below the current wrap on the peg. See the purl and purl tbl stitches for more information.

Four Basic Stitches

Here is a chart to help you determine how to wrap for each of the four basic stitches. Use one type of stitch throughout a stitch pattern or mix and match.

Basic Stitches
Stitch / Wrap / Placement
Knit / Diagonal / Above existing wrap
Knit tbl / Figure Eight / Above existing wrap
Purl / Diagonal / Below existing wrap
Purl tbl / Figure Eight / Below existing wrap

Knit Stitch

The knit stitch is a common stitch used in stitch patterns on the knitting board. You wrap each peg on the board by bringing the working yarn in front on the peg above the current wrap. This type of wrapping method is referred to as "diagonal" on this site because the yarn makes straight lines on a diagonal between the pegs. Typically, you will use this wrapping method throughout the entire stitch pattern, just as you would the figure eight (knit tbl). The box wrapping method is a modified version of the diagonal which will also produce a knit stitch.

Knit Through the Back Loop

Also Known As

E-wrap stitch
Figure Eight wrap stitch
Twisted Knit stitch

The knit tbl stitch is a common stitch used in stitch patterns on the knitting board. You wrap each peg on the board by wrapping the working yarn around each peg above the current wrap. This type of wrapping method is referred to as "figure eight" on this site because the yarn looks like a figure eight between the pegs. Typically, you will use this wrapping method throughout the entire stitch pattern, just as you would the diagonal. The box e-wrapping method is a modified version of the figure eight which will also produce a knit tbl stitch.

Directions

Moving from the left side of the knitting board to the right, bring the working yarn behind the peg from right side to left making an "e-wrap" above the existing wrap.
Continue covering pegs on the knitting board moving to the right in the order specified for the stitch pattern.
Moving from the right side of the knitting board to the left, bring the working yarn behind the peg from left side to right making an "e-wrap" above the existing wrap.
Continue covering pegs on the knitting board moving to the left until all of the pegs are covered.
Lift the bottom wrap over the new top wrap to knit off the peg.

Gauge

How do you make sure that you project will come out as directed? Check the gauge before you start! This is the one place in knitting that you should not take a shortcut with. Because everyone knits differently, the gauge of the loom is not that important. If you knit tighter or looser than the author does, your project will not come out the same. Many different things can effect the gauge including stitch pattern, yarn, color of yarn and even your mood. There are times when you may be able to get away with not knitting a swatch but only if the project does not need to fit perfectly, e.g., a blanket, shawl, etc. But when size is crucial, it's not worth taking the chance. Blocking can correct some gauge problems but there is no guarantee. It's easier to know the gauge upfront and change the pattern accordingly instead of trying to fix it afterwards.
So exactly what is gauge? Merriam Webster defines gauge as:

The fineness of a knitted fabric expressed by the number of loops per unit width.

To determine the gauge, you need to knit a swatch. It may seem tedious and boring but once you understand its importance, hopefully you will not think of it that way. How important is the gauge? If you are off just 1/2 stitch per a couple of inches and are making a fitted item, it won't fit. Don't learn it the hard way, by spending a lot of money on that beautiful yarn and knit a sweater for yourself just to have to give it to someone else. Knit the swatch! Knit Stitch

Directions

Moving from the left side of the knitting board to the right, bring the working yarn in front of the peg from left side of the peg to right above the existing wrap.
Continue covering pegs on the knitting board moving to the right in the order specified for the stitch pattern.
Moving from the right side of the knitting board to the left, bring the working yarn in front of the peg from right side of the peg to left above the existing wrap.
Continue covering pegs on the knitting board moving to the left until all of the pegs are covered.
Lift the bottom wrap over the new top wrap to knit off the peg.

Knit Through the Back Loop

Also Known As

E-wrap stitch
Figure Eight wrap stitch
Twisted Knit stitch

Directions

Moving from the left side of the knitting board to the right, bring the working yarn behind the peg from right side to left making an "e-wrap" above the existing wrap.
Continue covering pegs on the knitting board moving to the right in the order specified for the stitch pattern.
Moving from the right side of the knitting board to the left, bring the working yarn behind the peg from left side to right making an "e-wrap" above the existing wrap.
Continue covering pegs on the knitting board moving to the left until all of the pegs are covered.
Lift the bottom wrap over the new top wrap to knit off the peg.

Purl Stitch

The purl stitch is the opposite of the knit stitch. When you look at the wrong side (WS) of single knit fabric, the knit stitch is the purl stitch. Likewise, the purl stitch looks like the knit stitch on the wrong side (WS) of single knit fabric. Even though this is a basic knitting stitch, it is a stitch that many knitting board knitters never learn because a purl stitch within a pattern can be obtained through the order you wrap the pegs. However, if you would like an entire row of purl stitches, e.g., for the garter stitch or the reverse stockinette stitch, you will need to learn this stitch.

Directions

Moving from the left side of the knitting board to the right, bring the working yarn in front of the peg from left side of the peg to right below the existing wrap.
Continue covering pegs on the knitting board moving to the right in the order specified for the stitch pattern.
Moving from the right side of the knitting board to the left, bring the working yarn in front of the peg from right side of the peg to left below the existing wrap.
Continue covering pegs on the knitting board moving to the left until all of the pegs are covered.
Grab the bottom wrap with your knitting tool from the inside of the knitting board and pull it up taking both wraps off the peg.
Place the wrap on your knitting tool back on the peg letting the old wrap fall behind the peg to make a stitch.

Purl Stitch Through the Back Loop (p tbl)

The purl tbl stitch is the opposite of the knit tbl stitch. When you look at the wrong side (WS) of single knit fabric, the knit tbl stitch is the purl stitch. Likewise, the purl tbl stitch looks like the knit tbl stitch on the wrong side (WS) of the single knit fabric. Even though this is a basic knitting stitch, it is a stitch that many knitting board knitters never learn because a purl tbl stitch within a pattern can be obtained through the order you wrap the pegs. However, if you would like an entire row of purl tbl stitches, you will need to learn this stitch.
Two different methods for creating a purl tbl stitch are presented below. The result is the same; use whichever one is easier for you.

Method 1

Moving from the left side of the knitting board to the right, pick up the wrap on the current peg with your fingers.
Bring the working yarn behind the peg from right to left making an "e-wrap".
Replace the wrap in your fingers on the peg above the wrap you just made.
Repeat steps 1-3 moving to the right across the knitting board in the order specified for the stitch pattern.
Moving from the right side of the knitting board to the left, pick up the wrap on the current peg with your fingers.
Bring the working yarn behind the peg from left to right making an "e-wrap".

Replace the wrap in your fingers on the peg above the wrap you just made.
Repeat steps 5-7 moving to the left across the knitting board in the order specified for the stitch pattern until all of the pegs are covered.
Grab the bottom wrap with your knitting tool from the inside of the knitting board and pull it up taking both wraps off the peg.
Place the wrap on your knitting tool back on the peg letting the old wrap fall behind the peg to make a stitch.

Method 2