Step 1: Cast-On
To begin the Cuddle you will cast-on 78 stitches using two strands of yarn held together as one strand throughout the project. Using the Long Tail Cast-On method measure 6.5 feet (2 meters) of doubled yarn. This will be your long tail. (The rule of thumb is to measure 12 inches for every 20 stitches. It is recommended to round up so we will use 80 stitches to figure our long tail.)
Step 1, Long Tail Cast-On
Step 2: Knitting the KASCuddle ribbed collar
Once you have cast on 78 stitches on the needle, you will begin your ribbed collar. Hold the circular needle in front of you. Begin by knitting 2 and then purling 2 (K2P2) across the row. (If you are a new knitter, remember to throw your yarn to the back for the knit stitch and to the front for the purl stitch. You will be throwing your yarn every two stitches as you knit the collar.) Continue knitting and purling your collar back and forth just as if knitting on a straight needle until you have finished 5 inches. Be careful about the tension as you work with two strands of yarn held together. Do not pull the yarn too tight. When your collar is 5 inches you are ready for Step 3 which will be published on Wednesday, September 23rd.
Finished KasCuddle Collar
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I know so many of you are casting on today and I’m very thankful for it! I’ve loved the enthusiasm for this project and can’t wait to have a gallery to display all the beautiful, finished KasCuddles!
A big thank you to you, Dawne, for posting the instructions on the blog. Hope everyone who is joining in will have great success and really enjoy making a cuddle!
Must I be the first one who’s having trouble?! I am not getting ribs. My knit stitches seem to be alternating from row to row. I begin and end every row with K2. Why don’t I have ribs? With 78 stitches, after K2P2 across, there are still 2 stitches, which I assume I knit. What am I missing? Thanks. I know this will be great once I get the start right.
I’m OK now. My British neighbor came over and taught me how to rib. I’ll be ready for Wed. and she wants to make a KAScuddle, too!
Becky, I’m so sorry I missed answering your question. I have been
away from my computer taking care of three grandchildren. Not
a very auspicious weekend to be absent when we are launching
the Knitalong, but something unexpected came up and I had to
leave to fill in. Fantastic that your British neighbor wants to join
in!! For anyone else having trouble with the ribbing pattern,
just be sure that you purl the beginning of a row if you have a
purl in front of you on the first stitch, and knit the first stitch
if it is a knit stitch at the beginning of a row. So…….every row
will not be automatically K2P2 except the first row. After that
you have to check which kind of stitch is first when you turn the
collar to make another row. Hope that is clear for everyone.
I also had the same problem as Becky and frogged my first two attempts
. What I am doing now is K2P2 across for the 1st row and all odd number rows and P2K2 on all even rows. So far, cross my fingers, it’s resembling your photo above. Do you think that will work if I continue that Helen?
Yvonne,
That’s exactly what I would do. Work it like a 2 row project. All odd rows are K2P2 and even numbered rows are P2K2. Great job Yvonne in working it out and not giving up!
I did it!!! I wasn’t so sure I’d be a able to, but I managed it. Can’t wait until tomorrow.
Dawne,
. This is great that we’re all encouraging each other.
Thanks for the reply! I didn’t work on my Cuddle last night because I was waiting for someone to reply in case I was doing it wrong. Thanks for the pat on the back. I was pretty proud of myself for figuring it out after staying up till midnight and frogging it twice and not giving up and not cussing either
Yvonne and Paula…………good for you………you sound ready
to roll tomorrow with the next step! Proud of you!
I have the ribbing complete, and I’m looking forward to the next set of instructions. What a great idea. I hope these little children stay toasty warm in these little KasCuddle sacs.
Your wish, our command. Step 3 coming right up!
well for those of you who have solved your problem and stayed with it I think you are great. I finally had to give up after trying for lots of hours and always had to rip out lost count of wether i was knitting or purling. Am kindof disappointed but back to the squares and the loom I bought to make hats. Ordered a ball winder to make yarn cakes they sure look neater than the ball. Tried that by hand and that was hard too.
hi i am new to this and i love the idea of these cuddles and can see they are a success i would love to join in making them but am somewhat confused (it doesnt take much) i see you are using to strands of wool, do you use both strands when casting on or do u introduce the second strand after you’ve cast on. Im very new to knitting and ive never made anything other than squares and that was about 15years ago. I’ve tried looking for videos but as im not sure what im looking for im abit lost. thank you.