Cast On, Bind Off (46 page)
Authors: Leslie Ann Bestor
It only seems fitting
to end the cast ons with a technique so unique it stands on its own. A Möbius is a half-twisted loop with only one edge. Many patterns have you knit a rectangle and twist it before sewing the ends or twist the cast-on edge deliberately before knitting. But they are faux Möbiuses and have a full twist in them. The glory and magic of a true Möbius is that it is knit from the center out and has but one edge and a half twist.
This clever cast on
was made popular by the ever-creative Cat Bordhi in her
Treasury of Magical Knitting.
A Möbius makes a wonderfully twisted scarf or shawl, but that is just the beginning. The twist of a Möbius lends itself to all kinds of fantastic shapes, as Cat has shown. The twisted element can be structural or decorative. You knit the piece from the center out, which allows all sorts of play with pattern and color. In structure, the cast on is like a Provisional Cast On (
page 110
), done over a looped circular needle instead of waste yarn. The cast on has two basic moves and is fairly easy to master, as long as you take care when beginning the first row of knitting.
Extras
Circular needle 47â60â³ long (40â³ in a pinch); stitch marker
CHARACTERISTICS
⢠Creates a true Möbius strip
⢠The need to use long circular needles limits how small the project can be
GOOD FOR
⢠Bags and baskets with twisted handles
⢠Möbius wraps, shawls, and scarves
Holding the needle in a circle, with the tips at the top, make a slip knot with a short tail and place it on the left-hand needle tip. Slide the slip knot into the middle of the cable and let the left-hand tip dangle. The right-hand needle tip does the casting on, and the left-hand tip just hangs and waits.
Hold the yarn going to the ball from behind the needle with your left hand (point your index finger up to hold the yarn) and pinch the left side of the cable with the thumb and middle finger of your left hand. The yarn, your hand, and the cable of the circular needle make a kind of triangle. Your right hand holds the right-hand needle tip, while pinching the slip knot with the thumb and middle finger of the right hand. This is the “home” position.
Reach the right-hand needle tip in front of the cable, then underneath the cable and up between the cable and yarn.
Reach the needle over the top of the yarn and scoop it forward and under the cable, then back up top to the home position.