I’m currently knitting the Sookie skirt pattern (or trying to). The cast on calls for 3 sts long tail, the rest of the sts (-3 sts) provisional, and then 3 sts backwards loop. The pattern states that the long tail and backwards loop sts will make the hole for the insertion of elastic into the waistband of the skirt.
The pattern also suggests using scrap yarn for the first half of the waist band. I don’t really want to do this (in case the waistband rolls while wearing and reveals the contrasting waste yarn).
However, I cannot for the life of me work out how to cast on the three long tail sts in my project yarn and then go into the provisional cast on in my scarp yarn. Even if I just use my scrap yarn the whole time, I cannot work out how to transition from long tail to provisional cast on.
I have never even done a provisional cast on before, let alone a long tail into provisional, so I am very lost.
That does sound like a mix of cast ons. There’s no need to worry about the waste yarn from the provisional showing should the waistband roll. The waste yarn will be removed at some point to reveal the live sts ( after several rows orgl rounds they will likely be joined to the current sts on the needle). You can read ahead in the pattern to see what happens to the provisionally cast on sts.
Here’s a video for one way to work a provisional. You would cast on 3sts for the long tail using the working yarn, then use waste yarn to work the provisional and finally use a new strand of the working yarn to cast on the backward loop sts.
The next round using the working yarn will probably join to the provisional sts and you’ll continue from there. After some number of rows back and forth, the waste yarn will be removed and the band folded over. The original long tail and backward loop sts will stay as part of the inner band opening while you continue with the newly released sts from the provisional.
This cast-on is definitely confusing if it’s your first provisional cast-on. The good news is that the instructions are describing three separate sections of the cast-on, not one continuous cast-on method.
Here’s how I would interpret it:
Cast on 3 stitches using a long-tail cast-on with your working yarn. These stitches will become one side of the elastic opening.
Next, make the provisional cast-on for the remaining waistband stitches (all but the last 3). If the pattern recommends using scrap yarn here, that’s because these stitches will later be picked up to create the folded waistband.
Finally, cast on the last 3 stitches using the backward loop cast-on with your working yarn. These form the other side of the elastic opening.
If you’re struggling with the transition from long-tail to provisional, don’t worry—that’s a common sticking point. Most knitters simply treat it as a new cast-on section. After the first 3 long-tail stitches, begin the provisional cast-on by anchoring the scrap yarn around your needle (or crochet chain, depending on the provisional method you’re using) and continue casting on the required number of provisional stitches. Then switch back to your working yarn for the final 3 backward-loop stitches.
As for the scrap yarn showing if the waistband rolls: in most folded waistband constructions, the scrap yarn is only temporary. Once you’ve picked up the live stitches, the scrap yarn is removed completely, so there shouldn’t be any contrasting yarn left inside the finished waistband.
If you’re new to provisional cast-ons, I’d recommend practicing on a small swatch first. Once you’ve worked through it once, the pattern instructions will make much more sense.
If you can share the exact wording of the cast-on instructions (or a photo of that section of the pattern), I can explain the steps specifically for the Sookie skirt pattern.