Sometimes, you just want a cast-on row that you can pull out later with a minimum of cursing and bad feelings.  There are lots of solid, technical reasons to do this–but it’s also pretty cool.

And, not that hard!  Here are some instructions and lots of pictures here to show you the way.

Here’s what you’ll need:

  1. A knitting needle

       - you choose: dpn or straight

  2. Waste yarn:

       - in a contrasting colour so you can see it

       - of the same weight as your main yarn

       - aim for smoother and less fluffy yarn

  3. A crochet hook

Now that your tools are assembled, make a slip knot and put it on the crochet hook:

Then pick up your knitting needle and hold it in the left (non-crocheting hand), along with the yarn.  The yarn should run under the needle at this moment. 

Essentially, you will be crocheting around the knitting needle.  With the hook, reach over the needle and pick up the yarn, and draw a loop through your slip knot:

You will notice that the yarn is now in front of the needle.  That simply won’t do!  Move the yarn around to the back again.

See?  You’ve cast the first stitch on.  Repeat the last two steps:

and continue repeating them until you have the requisite number of stitches on your needle, and one (your working stitch) on the crochet hook. 

Cut the yarn and pull it through your working stitch (the one on the crochet hook) to prevent your cast-on from unravelling. 

Here’s a close-up of what it should look like:

Huzzah!

Now you’re ready to knit.  Basically, you just knit these stitches in your main colour. 

     Like this: 

Here’s a back and front view:

And, this is what you will have when you are done (assuming you are making a 2 inch square):

Now you are ready to unzip your provisonal cast-on . . . but you’ll have to wait for next time!