I really should blog  more. But I hate blogs where people whine about how they haven't blogged so I'll not do that here.

I started making Endpaper Mitts for my friend Molly last night. The first thing it says is to use the Italian Tubular Cast-On to cast on 56 stitches. The purpose of this is to create a neat, but stretchy cuff for your mitts.

A new technique could be daunting, but it's very satisfying when you succeed.

One method that I tried was the long tail tubular cast-on as instructed by Ysolda. You can watch her YouTube video here.

My problem with this method is that my stitches seemed to slip off and come untwisted if I didn't pay attention.

Instead I found this method by Francesca to be much easier for me. It's the same Italian Tubular Cast on, but it doesn't require waste yarn. It's similar to Ysolda's method, only you are using both hands to transfer the yarn, rather than moving the needle around the yarn.

If you scroll down to the end of the blog post, you will be able to watch a QuickTime video which will make a lot of sense.

Once you are in the rhythm of moving the yarn back and forth, you'll be able to cast on very quickly. This is a great cast on for cuff-down socks, sleeves, or even the hem of a sweater since it's very stretchy but looks very neat and clean.

Once you have cast on your stitches, you will need to knit two rows flat before joining in the round. Both videos cover this and Ysolda even discusses how to make a 2x2 rib since the most common is a 1x1.

I hope you give this method a try sometime. I think it will be a great knitting skill to conquer.