stretchy cast on for ribbed edge

After watching Garnstudio's video, I thought to myself that there must be a way to work the cast on while holding the yarn in the left hand.  Here are written directions for doing so.  The cast on is very stretchy and works for both 1x1 and 2x2 ribbing.

Make slip knot on LHN. (The slip knot is not counted as a cast on stitch and will be slipped off needle later.) 
* With yib, place RHN under LHN. Wrap yarn under (from left to right) and over LHN and then under (from right to left) and over RHN.  (Loops made on both needles.)  Pull loop on RHN through. Yarn forward (under LHN). With yif, slip st from RHN to LHN purlwise. Two sts cast on.  Yarn back (under LHN). Repeat from * until desired number of sts are cast on.

Mobius band cast on

My DS2 found a link for knitting a Mobius band and asked me to take a look at it. He was planning on knitting it, but it turned out a little too difficult for a beginning knitter.

As I was reading the directions (Method 1), I thought to myself that the band could be worked even more easily with interchangeable circs.

Cast on the desired number of sts using a Turkish cast on (over 2 circs). (In the pic, I wrapped the yarn around the circs 126 times, for the pattern I was going to make.) Then knit back (or k1p1 back) over those stitches (for the example, 126 sts). These stitches form the "soul" or center of the band. (I placed markers every 18th st because the pattern I was going to use has a repeat of 18 sts.)

Then working with the part of the band away from the loose end, take off the needle tip and the cap. Place the needle tip where the cap was and the cap where the needle tip was. The pic shows the band after the exchange. Lay the work out so nothing is twisted (as in the pic).

Mark the beginning of the round and begin knitting whatever pattern you've chosen for the band. There will naturally be a single twist in the work. Work in pattern until you've knitted all the sts off the circ (126 sts). All the sts (all 252 of them) are now on the same circ.

Replace the cap on the circ that has all the sts on it with a needle tip. Then finish the round (126 more sts for a total of 252, for the example). Continue to knit in pattern. The second pic is of a finished Mobius band, May Flowers Mobius.

A picture of the first Mobius band I knitted is here. It's the last pic in the post. It was knit with worsted weight cotton yarn.

Note: The first pic here shows 2 circs of equal length. It works out better to have the circ on which the "soul" is knitted to be a bit longer since it will eventually be the only circ in use and have to be long enough for twice the "length" of the band.

I-cord cast on

I've made an i-cord cast on once before but wasn't entirely happy withthe result. So, this time, I decided to look for another method. Ifound one that used M1 into the first stitch instead of kfb. But, Iwasn't entirely happy with that one either. So, I asked myself "whydoes the M1 have to be into the first stitch?"

Here is my new and different way of making an 3-stitch i-cord cast on:
1. Cast on 4 stitches.
2. Slide the stitches to another dpn or to the other end of a circ (just as you would to make an unattached i-cord).
3. k3
4. Wrap the yarn around the LHN (left hand needle) as in the picture by wrapping the yarn over the needle from the back and then under the needle again. The yarn starts out in back and ends in the back of the work.
5. Slip the 3 stitches on the RHN (right hand needle) back to the LHN purlwise.

Repeat steps 3 - 5 until there are the LHN has on it the desired number of stitches to be cast on plus 2.
To end, you can then k2tog, k1, return the stitches to the LHN, k2tog, and then return this stitch to the LHN.