Cast On, Bind Off by Leslie Ann Bestor

follows.

    Work the first stitch as it presents (knit or purl).

    The next stitch is the opposite, so you switch it with the stitch that follows by slipping the next 2 stitches off the left-hand needle and inserting the same needle tip into the first stitch, going in front of the second stitch. Put the second stitch back on the left-hand needle.

    Work the next stitch on the left-hand needle (it will be the same as the first stitch you worked — knit or purl).

    The next 3 stitches are in order, but then you must switch stitches again. Continue across the row, switching stitches every 4 stitches.

Möbius Cast On
    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.

Möbius Cast On
    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 47–60″ long (40″ in a pinch); stitch marker

    CHARACTERISTICS
    â€¢ Creates a true Möbius strip
    â€¢ The need to use long circular needles limits how small the project can be
    GOOD FOR
    â€¢ Bags and baskets with twisted handles
    â€¢ Möbius wraps, shawls, and scarves
Working the Cast On

    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.

    Reach the needle up, over, and behind the yarn and scoop a loop forward. (This looks like a yarnover). Both stitches will be slanting the same way.

    Repeat steps 3–5 for the desired number of stitches. Count each stitch made by the right-hand needle as 1 stitch. Do not count the stitches that appear on the cable beneath the needle.
Beginning to Knit

    In order to keep the stitches from twisting, you need to make sure the cable and needles cross only once (making that Möbius twist). To do this, push/pull the cable, needles, and stitches so that the cable is flat and the sides are parallel to each other. (Cat likens this to a railroad track.) With both needles at the top ready to knit, let the right-hand needle cross the cable at the top. The cable and left-hand needle are parallel to each other all the way around. You may