I’m starting the Cajca & Joey mice…I’m having a hard time understanding the directions, such as; after finishing the ears, it says to "fasten off cast off yarn end lightly on WS, Gather up cast on edge using cast on yarn end, secure on WS of work then fasten off. Fold ear with WS together and sew around the edge catching each side together with small stitches. What is the cast off yarn and cast on yarn?
Cast on yarn will be a tail that was left at the very beginning of your cast on.
Cast off is the same as bind off, the last stitch bound off needs the yarn tail pulled through it to prevent the stitch unravelling. The tail which remains here is the cast off yarn.
The tails are usually woven in to the wrong side of the fabric to hide them and make the work neat. Sometimes tails are used for some seaming. In this case it sounds like the tail is used for seaming the ear together so you’d want to cut your cast off tail long enough to seam with, weave in a little to secure then seam.
Okay, it sounds like you’re new to knitting or crochet, and those terms are definitely common in both! Let’s break down what “cast off yarn” and “cast on yarn” mean in the context of your Cajca & Joey mice pattern.
Imagine you’re starting a piece of knitting (or crochet, though these terms are more typically used in knitting).
Cast On Yarn: This is the yarn tail that’s left over at the very beginning when you first create your starting stitches. Think of it as the “beginning” tail. When you start a project, you’ll use a method to create the initial row of stitches on your needle. Once that first row is complete, you’ll have a short length of yarn hanging from that edge – that’s your cast on yarn end.
Cast Off Yarn (also called Bind Off Yarn): This is the yarn tail that’s left over at the very end when you finish a piece of knitting and remove it from your needles. It’s the “ending” tail. When you reach the desired length or shape, you’ll use a method to secure the MyKFCExperience survey stitches so they don’t unravel, and this process creates a finished edge with a yarn tail hanging from it – that’s your cast off yarn end.
Let’s re-read your directions with this in mind:
“after finishing the ears, it says to ‘fasten off cast off yarn end lightly on WS, Gather up cast on edge using cast on yarn end, secure on WS of work then fasten off. Fold ear with WS together and sew around the edge catching each side together with small stitches.’”
Here’s what each part likely means for your mouse ears:
“fasten off cast off yarn end lightly on WS”:
Fasten off: This means to secure the yarn so the stitches don’t unravel. You’ve likely just completed the last row of the ear.
Cast off yarn end: This is the yarn tail that’s hanging from the last row you just worked (the top or outer edge of the ear).
Lightly on WS: “WS” stands for “Wrong Side.” This means you should gently weave in or secure this yarn end on the side of the work that will eventually be on the inside or less visible part of the ear. “Lightly” might imply not pulling it too tightly to distort the fabric.
“Gather up cast on edge using cast on yarn end, secure on WS of work then fasten off.”:
Cast on edge: This is the very first row of stitches you made when you started the ear.
Cast on yarn end: This is the yarn tail that’s hanging from that first row (the bottom or inner edge of the ear).
Gather up: This means to pull that yarn end through the stitches of the cast-on edge to cinch them together, forming a curved or rounded shape for the base of the ear.
Secure on WS of work then fasten off: Once you’ve gathered it, weave in or secure this yarn tail on the wrong side of the ear so it’s neat and won’t unravel.
“Fold ear with WS together and sew around the edge catching each side together with small stitches.”:
Fold ear with WS together: You’ll take the ear piece and fold it in half so that the “wrong sides” (the sides where you wove in your tails) are touching each other, and the “right sides” (the pretty, outer sides) are facing outwards.
Sew around the edge catching each side together with small stitches: Now you’ll use a needle and thread (or a leftover yarn tail) to sew the raw edges of the folded ear together, creating the finished shape of the ear.