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and casting onto the needle with the other until you have 20 or so stitches.

Now it's time to bring the second needle into play. Take the needle with the stitches already cast on in your non-dexterous hand and take a second needle in the other hand.

With the "knotted" side of the loops toward you, pass the new needle up through the first loop on the other needle, as you did with the loop on your finger.

Then pass the yarn from the skein around the needle and draw it back through the loop on the needle which then slides off and with any luck at all, the new loop remains there as part of the second row of knitting. Tighten a bit if necessary.

Lesson Number Two - Go the the website below and watch someone start a project.
Long-Tail Cast-On (Elegant)
Single Cast-On- (Easiest)
Cable Cast-On (a slight pain in the neck)
Knitting-On (a bigger pain in the neck)
Old Norwegian Cast-On (Old-world efficiency giant pain in the neck)
Invisible (Provisional) Cast-On (Nice for adding onto the beginning edge later)

http://www.knittinghelp. com/videos/cast-on

Lesson Number Three -From here, continue to ask, watch and learn.
The best way to learn is finding someone who knows how. Ask them over for tea and crumpets and leave some exotic yarn lying on the counter with a pair of knitting needles casually left next to it. They won't be able to resist trying a row or two as you watch and ask for advice or pointers on how to get started. It will be worth the price of the yarn.

The best way to learn is to ask your grandmother; now. Then, keep practicing until you find a rhythm to your movements and notice which ones work and which ones don't. It's not easy to keep the tension right, get the loops right and keep a pattern going until you've mastered casting on, so just take it off and start over until you begin to feel that rhythm.

Learn more about this author, Lucie Shores.
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