So I’m following this pattern for a sweater and it says to add some cast on stitches with the backwards loop method. Then it says to purl the next row. Problem is, after I purl one or two stitches I get this long thread between my needles. I know it’s not supposed to look like that. What am I doing wrong??
How many stitches are you casting on? If you’re doing more than about 3 it’s best to use another method, cable or knitted cast on works well.
Yeah, it calls for 16. But it says specifically to do it with the backwards loop method. I had to co on the other end too but it didn’t call for anything specific. Do you think I should just ignore that instruction and go with a knitted co?
Thou shalt not stray from that which is written in the pattern. I’ve not come across that anywhere. Patterns aren’t carved in stone. What works for one person won’t always work for another. Yes, you can use any CO method you choose. If one works better than another, don’t hesitate to use what works for you. I don’t understand the reason for a pattern to call for a backward loop cast on for this many stitches, or why anyone would start a new knitter with it. It almost always leads to problems that are easily avoided by using a different CO. There are methods for dealing with the problem but I haven’t used them, I avoid the backward loop cast on in the first place. Other knitters have other opinions and I respect that. There are no knitting police. And of course YMMV!
Yea! Ty! What I needed to hear! 
Good. :yay: Patterns are wonderful creations and I love them. I have more patterns than I could ever hope to use. I tend to stray from them a lot. Either they don’t fit right, there is a stitch pattern that just isn’t working for me or I prefer another, or I just get an idea of how to make what I want and wing it. I just finished a hat (I think, I may frog it) and I didn’t like the way it turned out from following the pattern so I looked at another and reworked the crown, still didn’t like it, took ideas from both and came up with something that worked. Most of the time, for most people, following a pattern works out the way it should. Still, subbing another CO or BO method or changing to a different increase or decrease is permissible. It’s your project you can do what you want and if you don’t like the result you can frog it and do it again.
It is only knitting.
I know some people like backward loop, but I don’t think it’s good for any primary cast on. I use mostly long tail myself.