music in video is from demo 2008 by (Latchxe9 Swing) / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

This is probably one of my favorite cast on’s. Emily Ocker’s Cast On is a great way to start your knitting from the center. This can be useful when doing shawls and blankets, or hats and even toe-up socks! My favorite thing about this technique is how you pull your work together with the slip knot you create during the cast on. It’s like magic!

Skill: Intermediate

Pattern:

Step 1: Take your yarn and make a around your finger.

Step 2: Take a crochet hook and insert it under the loop on your finger and grab the yarn connected to the ball with the hook.

Step 3: Pull the yarn through the loop on your finger.

Step 4: Grab the yarn connected to the ball again with the hook.

Step 5: Pull the yarn through the loop on your crochet hook. This will create one stitch

Repeat steps 2-5 until you have cast on the number of stitches required by your pattern.

After you have knitted a few row grab the tail of your yarn and pull your work closed.

Here is an example of this method on a three double pointed needles before the loop is closed:

Example of Emily Ocker's Cast On