Open vs. Closed Cast On

Open Cast On

An open cast on leaves live stitches in the main yarn that can be picked up later.

Machine knitters often use an open cast on when they plan to add a finished edge after the knitting is complete.

• Pick up the stitches and hand-knit ribbing
• Pick up the stitches and machine-knit ribbing
• Work a decorative bind-off
• Finish the edge with crochet

The most common way to create an open cast on is by using waste yarn.

Closed Cast On

A closed cast on creates a finished edge as you begin knitting.

Some closed cast ons are decorative, while others are simply functional, such as the cast on method described in your machine manual.

There are many closed cast on methods. In the next section, we'll take a look at two of the most commonly used by machine knitters.

• E-wrap cast on — stretchy and fast
• Chain/crochet cast on — firm and decorative