Easy Provisional Cast On With a Crochet Hook – Knitting Technique

A provisional cast on is a way to cast on stitches temporarily, that way you can knit your item, then later graft the live stitches together. It’s often used in toe-up socks, cowls, seamless headbands, and really anything that you later want to be able to create a seamless join or finish for. I use it in my upcoming pattern Melissa’s Headband to create a seamless look to the cable pattern.

Now, there’s multiple ways to create a provisional cast on. As long as it’s easy to remove, it works, and it’s easy for you to remember, it’s good. The method that I find easiest is to use a crochet hook and basically chain the stitches onto the knitting needle. In the video below, I show you how to do a provisional cast on with a crochet hook, and how to take the cast on off and put the stitches back on the needle.

The beautiful thing about this method is that it’s as easy to remember and do as a crochet chain. There’s no complicated pattern of motions to do or having to pick up stitches. If you know how to do a crochet chain, you can easily learn how to this provisional cast on method.

If you don’t own a crochet hook, there are other methods of provisional cast on that don’t use one, but in my opinion it’s worth the few dollars is costs to have one, even if you don’t crochet.

What’s your preferred method of provisional cast on? Have you used one in your knitting yet? Let me know in the comments below.

Happy knitting!