Chinese Waitress Cast-On with Crochet Hook

[@johannebrunner6477]

Someone who is humble to admit they are always open to better ways of doing things! How refreshing!

[@klin862]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who figured out this easier method. They twist the stitch unnecessarily in other videos

[@carolmelancon]

Reminded me of "The Little Engine That Could". Thank you so much for this tutorial with just the tips needed for a nice last stitch and counting work-in-progress cast-on.

[@RedClayLady]

Thank you for teaching this to virtually the entire Atlanta Knitting Guild this weekend. As a lefty, I was struggling with wielding a crochet hook with my right hand and getting the loop through. I'm an experienced left-handed crocheter, so I tried holding the hook with my left, knitting needle in the right, and bringing the yarn around counterclockwise. Worked like a dream within minutes.

[@brigitt8149]

So much more simple than with only knitting needles. Thank you. You simplified the process enormously.

[@operamommy]

Thank you so much for explaining this so clearly. I appreciated the comment about not counting the slip stitch at the beginning of the row.

[@jennifercloke5885]

What a lovely cast on! I am so tired of trying to estimate tail length for casting on, and this is a quick, easy alternative. Thank you for such a great tutorial!

[@newmoonjlp]

I know this is a six year old video, but I just want to chime in with my thanks for this clear explanation. I've flubbed this cast on so many times in the past!

[@DH-gu8bo]

I too found this CO from her book. I love the way you end this CO with the single chain before placing it on the needle. Thank you so much for posting. I wish I had found this a few years ago. :D

[@meganbennett3321]

This technique is awesome and so quick. Very well explained. I’d watched another demo video done slightly differently, and it involved removing the stitch made, opening the loop and twisting it before putting it back on the needle. Far more complicated and time consuming. Thank you for this.

[@linamatthews512]

I'm so glad I found your channel. My sister has been trying to teach me how to do the Chinese Waitress cast on method since I learned how to knit 3 months ago. Unfortunately she's an English style knitter and i'm a continental knitter. I found it weird to do it the way she was teaching me. This method will make it easier for me to learn this cast on method. I also found your tutorial on German Short rows clear and easy to understand. Thank you!!!!

[@MW-iu1ed]

OMG OMG OMG this is marvelous and your voice is so soothing and the pace is perfect. Thank you

[@catief1031]

Finally someone else who thought a crochet hook would be useful for this cast on. I happened across this cast on when things were slow at the office and when I saw the part about the bind off I was thinking a crochet hook would make it so much more easier but no one else ever posted a video on it for some reason. Anyhow thank you for the different ending, I hadn't thought about that or using it for adding stitches to my work.

[@ginasparks1602]

Thank you for your tutorial. I watched one from somebody else, and there were a bunch of extra moves that I thought seemed like a waste of time and energy, and so I kept looking. Your method eliminates all those steps I thought were unnecessary, and will make the 300+ stitches of lace weight yarn, cast on faster and easier. THANK YOU!

[@His4Hero]

I literally yelled "brilliant!" at the sight of that last chain stitch! I love this cast on but could never work out a better last stitch. Thank you SO much!

[@pasticheknitwear]

+His4Hero Hey, you made my day! It's the little things, isn't it? Anal Knitters of the World unite!

[@His4Hero]

+Mimi Kezer I startled my husband when I yelled and then he just shook his head and said 'it's a knitting thing right?' Haha! Thanks again!

[@pasticheknitwear]

+Hollis Evon Ramsey Thanks, Hollis!

[@terrimetcalf3378]

I've been searching for an alternative to the cable cast-on for mid-work cast-ons. Thank you so much for your clear explanation and demonstration of the Chinese waitress cast-on method and how to finish the last stitch to make it match the prior stitches. Plus, how to count the stitches. I just used it and it looks great! I also appreciate your pros and cons summary for each cast-on alternative you list on your web page.

[@Drisanna]

Thank you so much. I have long wanted to use the Chinese Waitress cast-on, but I generally knit with very fine yarns, and was not able to easily (or at all) get the second loop to "cast off" over the first one, especially with my fingers. You have now solved that problem for me, and I really thank you for doing so. Your video has quickly elevated the Chinese Waitress Cast-on to nearly the top of my "favorite cast-ons" list.

[@bikihonko1468]

Fantastic video! You made it very easy to understand, with mega clear instructions and visuals. How you ended the cast on is genius! Awesome, awesome, awesome!

[@heddabearwilliams2131]

Amazing tutorial, It is such a lovely cast on so even and just a little stretchy it works so well, patience needed to begin with, not hard at all and you are an amazing instructor, thank you. Always amazed at how many ways things can be done.

[@lorrainedewey9321]

Thank you! This is great. So easy to do and so easy to understand your instructions.

[@chtitmog]

I love this cast-on so much that I was okay with all the tedious process until I watched your video! Lol. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! This is very well explained and this will me save me quite some time on my next projects. x Davie

[@craftegrame9264]

Excellent tutorial - I especially appreciated the explanation of how to use this method when adding stitches to a project in progress. Many thanks !!

[@paraboo8994]

I was looking for a new method of casting on for a project that's going to be reversible - the two needle version of the Chinese Waitress CO was really frustrating but this is AMAZING! Thank you so much for this invaluable tutorial!

[@huggybeartrucks]

this makes so much more sense than the other video i found on CWCon.....and the final stitch......thank you!!!!!!

[@laura3071934]

Wow! This is so much easier to do than using the 2 needles! Thank you ever so much!

[@ruthjollyblack6899]

I’m going to try this. 80 years old and is the first I’ve seen or heard of this. Looks like it would be good for the sweater under arm.

[@costanzadardano3598]

I can't tell you how happy I am right now!!! I am very grateful for your video which I have just found. In few occasions I tried to learn this cast on but, in all honesty, I ended up swearing out of frustration :-( By following along this video I have now grasped it and I am also very fast!!!!!!!!Being also a crochet person helped....Thank you ever so much!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@DianeBuls]

Since watching your tutorial, this is my favorite cast on. No more guessing how much yarn I need for a long tail cast on..thank you so much 😊

[@pasticheknitwear]

I'm so glad you like it! It is my favorite cast on as well.

[@chelleqlter]

Just used this on my new project. It is a gorgeous stitch and not really hard to do at all. I was suppose to co 191 stitches, and before I knew it, I had cast on 250! LOL Love this new to me cast on.

[@e2cmmm]

👏🏻👏🏻🎉👏🏻🎉👏🏻✨🌟⭐️🌟✨❤️😃❤️👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻💐👏🏻💐👏🏻👏🏻 This is an absolutely amazing method for knitting the Chinese waitress cast-on!! Thank you soooooo much!!

[@enoweder]

LOVE this especially using the crochet hook!!!!

[@judyreel1544]

Great cast-on!! so easy and tidy...love it!!! thank you for sharing!!

[@ellenblack5376]

This is so slick! Thank you for a great demo !

[@christines1924]

Wonderfully and clearly explained!! Thank you for making the video, Mimi. I JUST was doing another pattern that suggested this CO and the vid referenced had me scratching my head a little. The crochet hook is marvy and I won't avoid items with e.g., 200 stitch cast-ons anymore 😁

[@christinemcelhaney2191]

I had viewed the two-needle way to do this cast-on, and thought gosh that's stupid, I bet I can think of a way to make this more efficient. And you've saved me a lot of thinking! Thank you for posting this!

[@hlasher1]

Great demo! I tried it tonight on my current sweater project, and I think it just became my new favorite cast-on. Thanks!

[@WAYMNTutorials]

As a continental knitter, thank you for this tutorial :D And the crochet hook speeds up the tedious knit/bind off/reposition. Love it!

[@AlyssaHopeByrd]

As a lefty, I agree. Thanks!

[@jrunke6776]

Very new to this cast on and you did a great job of explaining.

[@beckyslack3805]

Just found this... will be using it now.... it's so neat looking!...thank you for the demo!....

[@jennychappell8190]

I absolutely love this! This morning I just thought of using it for Tunisian Crochet. After all... Casting onto a Tunisian hook/cable system wouldn't be any different than casting onto a knitting needle.

[@melaniemacalister]

Perfect! Took some work but it’s the best for mid-row cast one that’s still stretchy, thanks 🌸🤗

[@dianareynolds9469]

I am so-o-o glad I found your video and this technique. I found it very fiddly at first but now I have got the hand of it, it is wonderful. Thank you so much. Diana

[@rosepaul9681]

Wow, just cast on a sock. Looks neater than any top down cast on I've ever done. Thanks so much. I normally do toe up so have a harder time going this direction.

[@avlawerd59]

This is an excellent cast on and video, thank you! :-) It will be a much needed substitution for the long tail cast on and guessing the amount of yarn needed.

[@luanasimone6680]

Thank youuuuuu🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 i hai not knit for long time and I didnt remember how to do this cast on that its my Favorite❤ thank you so much. Your speaking and teaching are very nice❤

[@heatherross5966]

Thanks a bunch, I watched the original version and thought "crochet hook" looked to the right of the screen and there was this vid. =D Thank you for thinking of all of us continental knitters too, I was having a terrible time trying to juggle the needle hook and yarn.

[@terrymary9636]

Well done tutorial with a great way to do my favorite cast-on. Thank you so much.

[@kitgar61]

Perfect demo! I use a crochet hook for my go to method of casting on anyway as I loathe the long tail cast on. Since I am a crocheter as well as a continental knitter it appeals to my love of symmetry to use both. Thanks for adding another tool to my knitting bag of tricks!

[@pasticheknitwear]

kitgar61 So glad that you like the cast on! It is my absolute favorite and I use it all the time. It makes me happy to think that you will use it and teach others. :-)

[@annakuzminsky3531]

kitgar61 I totally agree! I knit continental too and really like how it looks the same - pretty and tidy - on both the RS and the WS!

[@ooohlaa13]

excellent, Ilove raising my knitting to a fine art, and I welcome all your wonderful refinements! Blessings@

[@susiesparkesactor]

This is gorgeous!

[@duarteshelia]

It looks so nice if only I had found this video a couple of days ago while I was working on a christening gown. Thanks bunches.

[@knittingpoppy]

Oh my, thank you! I was struggling with this cast on & you just made it so easy:)

[@teridecaprio]

This is a great tutorial for this cast on. Thanks for sharing!

[@catherinejanakiraman9149]

Oh I love this 😳 My new favorite knitted cast on.

[@lindag3663]

Thank you! Such clear instructions!

[@libbywalsh358]

Clear and informative video tutorial thank you. ❤️

[@Ivyvinetheloremaster]

thank you so much, you taught me how to do this cast on, then you go and have another video posted showing me all these improvements! at jo ann's they sell this book called "everything the internet didn't teach you about knitting" and, man, that book must be full of scrap paper

[@pasticheknitwear]

Zoe, you made me laugh! I'm so glad that the videos have been helpful. Knit on!

[@marujacker7396]

Zoe Burket de

[@megebigler9078]

Mimi great demonstration of this cast on. I would love to see this done with the double yellow line on the size 11 needles for your felted slippers socks. Thanks again

[@MrCassandrax8]

Very useful technique! Thanks a lot!

[@marilyn1228]

EXCELLENT tutorial. Thanks!

[@rmonas1]

I'm going to use this for my mitten pattern where I have to cast on extra stitches at the thumb. Thank you very much!

[@coraynbell8991]

Great tutorial. Thank you. Finally can 'do' this cast on

[@heatherross5966]

Continental @1:45 Thanks so much for this!

[@rung.warittha]

1:50 for the continental knitters

[@annakuzminsky3531]

Love this cast on!

[@aliciadelahunty1207]

So clear!

[@nicoletajauca11]

thank you, Mimi!

[@tobygolding1893]

kool would like to see on finished hat or something but its worth try thanks

[@PrincessSharilee]

Excellent information. I'm so excited to have a streamline for this cast on. It's also on of my favorites, but the way I knew to do it was awfully fiddly.

[@tammyr.3882]

You are amazing to watch!

[@TheRedheadsrus]

Great job!

[@granknitter]

Super instruction technique. Thank you

[@sibella3]

Thank you ❤

[@pasticheknitwear]

You're welcome 😊

[@elenaescobar6398]

wow to put elastic cord into needles thank you

[@miss-asketches5284]

This is great! Thanks! 👍😉

[@hollyjanzen2595]

Oh my bob!! Well, ... unless I need a stiff (tight) cast on - this is it for me!! Thanks!!

[@karenbruzewski1258]

Great ...love the cast on❤️

[@mangamaniacSA]

If you opt not to use a crochet hook and use 2 knitting needles, this same yarn motion (over both needles instead of over the top one, under the bottom one) eliminates the need to remove the needle every stitch. It's just a little bit trickier to catch the yarn at first using a needle instead of a hook, but very doable.

[@ladygray4]

+SA Howe SO much easier & more efficient than others I've seen. Thanks!!

[@catherinewallace1175]

Oh my. Wow. Thanks.

[@michellebabin7582]

Fantastic

[@NWLady43]

This is awesome! Thank you so much!

[@Nikitty02]

Hi nice video. I do have question, can you do a video with a bind-off with the same look as the cast-on?

[@PG-wz7by]

Awesome! So helpful.

[@rosesires4560]

Thank you!!! Love this new cast on! It’s beautiful and fast! I do have the book “Cast On Bind Off” by Leslie Ann Besror and this stitch is not in it!

[@karenbruzewski1258]

So neat!

[@Earnshawfully]

Quicker and easier! My favourite, too.

[@lineguenette1828]

What size hook do you use? I appreciate the step by step. Very well explained. Thank you.

[@ooohlaa13]

Terrific, it would be helpful if when you start the video you showed the finished product so we could see what we were going for, what was emerging, how stretchy and all that. Just a thought.

[@purrlgurrl3061]

For those of us who are also crocheters this version is superior to the one done with two needles - no need to pick up a loop with your fingers to do a manual bind off (ugh). Thanks for posting.

[@mdalaminahmed1064]

thank you sooo much..

[@courag1]

Great cast on and demo, so thank you very much, most helpful!

[@susanhart9923]

So much easier using the crochet hook!

[@paulagiacinto9327]

Mimi--can you use this cast on in conjunction with the Tulip-style buttonhole to add stitches for a sleeve in a yoke. Knit in the round bottom up, so there's a bind-off of 10 stitches at each of the underarms, and then cast on approx 50 lr 60 stitches for the sleeve addition on the yoke. I was thinking it would work to do the bottom part, the bind off as in the Tulip buttonhole so it is reinforced and looks even on both sides, then cast on the required stitches using the CW cast on because it is sturdier yet stretchy. What do you think?

[@sandeleh]

I like this cast on for cuff-down socks, but I find that the sock yarn keeps splitting! Of course, I don't see the errant plys until I've done several more stitches or even started the cuff. Argh! Will using a larger crochet hook help solve this problem? I really don't want to go back to the German Twisted Cast-on. Thanks.

[@marypengue7556]

Is there a way of casting off so it looks same as cast on?

[@azvol]

Thank you so much! Yours is the easiest method to follow for this beautiful cast on. Since it is more elastic than the long-tail, I was thinking about using it to start hats. Can this cast on be joined in the round? I usually cast on one more stitch than called for and join by transferring the extra stitch to the second needle and pulling it over the last cast on stitch. Do you think this would work for Chinese waitress cast on? Thanks in advance.

[@pasticheknitwear]

Absolutely this cast on will work in the round - I use it all the time. :-) I don't personally use the extra stitch/cast-off one method, but there's no reason that it wouldn't work with this cast on just like Long Tail or any other. As an aside, I see you're a Vol fan. I live in Knoxville! Small world. :-)

[@azvol]

Thank you for responding so quickly! I wasn't really expecting that. So glad to know it will work in the round. Actually, my husband is the Vol. Born, raised, and spent most of his life in the Tri Cities area. I joke that he "bleeds orange" !!! Thanks again. Ginny B.

[@drnili]

I read and reread Cap Sease's directions, then watched another video several times and still was having trouble but this version, with the crochet hook, wow, that's genius. Like the different ending too. Thank you! Now if we could just discover a matching bind off, that would be perfect. Do you know of one?

[@pasticheknitwear]

I often will use the Lateral Braid Bind-Off as a companion the the CWCO. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close!

[@drnili]

Mimi Kezer Thank you Mimi! I will look for it. Meanwhile I just cast on my new project using this Chinese Waitress crochet hook variation, all 200 stitches. It's brilliant! And as you said, one gets into a lovely, easy rhythm while doing it. Can't wait to share with my handicrafters group. Thanks again.

[@azvol]

+Mimi Kezer First, thank you for this great video that also includes Continental knitters. I have searched for the Lateral Braid Bind Off, but all I find is directions for making the Lateral Braid. Would you please direct to a teaching source for Lateral Braid Bind Off? Thanks so much!

[@pasticheknitwear]

+Carolina Volunteer You know, I thought I had one, but apparently not - it looks like all I have is the Lateral Braid tutorial! Well, go ahead and follow the instructions for the lateral braid and work 2 stitches. When you have 2 sts sitting on the right-hand needle, bind off one stitch. Then, just as a typical bind-off, work one more lateral braid stitch, then bind off another, and so on, all the way to the end. If you're working in the round, I have a video that shows how to join the braid perfectly. Hope this helps. Guess I know what my next video will be. :-) BTW, I couldn't help but notice your UT avatar - I live in Knoxville!

[@magpiesneedle2575]

Carolina volunteer if you haven't already figured this out, look for Latvian Braid - www.google.co.uk/search?q=latvian+braid+tutorial&ie=&oe=

[@angixm]

Turkish bed socks from Churchmouse?! Do you have tips for that pattern? 🙏🏼💞

[@pasticheknitwear]

I actually have done a redo of the Turkish bedsock pattern. If you send me your email address, I would be happy to send it along to you.

[@angixm]

@@pasticheknitwear Thank you!! I appreciate that a lot!!!! 😊🙏🏼 I set that project aside as I was unsure of the construction. I’m not sure how to do that without making it public… I will ask a young person to help me! 😂

[@soniamararucker7222]

Muito mais prático, ainda mais, quando se tem que colocar muitos pontos. Obrigada.

[@CastOnCalamity]

Woww!!! Thanks for that.