Provisional cast on using crochet?

#1

So I am starting to knit the Luna Moth shawl, and it is using a provisional crochet cast on. I watched the provisional cast on method here and was wondering two things; Do I leave the knitting yarn end loose when doing the crochet method, only knitting it in after crocheting the first 6 chain or am I supposed to attach it somehow with the axillary yarn like the video here does?

The instructions are:
Cast on: Shawl begins at the center back using provisional cast on. With contrast color scrap yarn and crochet hook, chain 6. With shawl yarn pick up and knit 3 sts in the bumps on the back side of the center 3 chains - 3 sts. Knit 18 rows. Next row, K3, pick up and knit 1 st in each of the 9 garter ridges along selvedge edge of piece, unzip scrap yarn chain to expose 3 sts at base of the piece, place these 3 sts onto left needle, K3. (15 sts total)

Thanks for the help!

#2

Just leave the knitting yarn loose, it won’t come undone. You’ll be taking out the crochet sts and picking up the loops with your knitting needle and the working part of the yarn. After you do a few rows on the body of the shawl you can weave in the loose end or do it when you’re done.

#3

Is it supposed to feel loose? Since I have never doe lace before I am not sure if it is right, or loose from me or the type of yarn.
I decided to try the bamboo but it is really slippery. Still considering using the wool to combat the issue at least until i know what it should be like.

ETA- I was also wondering how do I know if my gauge is right for something like this? Because the starting stitches aren’t really big enough to gauge the gauge??

#4

Yes it’ll be loose, but if you have a long enough tail when you start knitting with the shawl yarn, it won’t come out. You can knit the tail in with the first few stitches of the shawl body after you pick up the sts if that’ll make you feel more secure about it.

Gauge doesn’t matter a lot with shawls as they’re pretty much ‘one size fits most’. You do need to see if the yarn and needle size will work together, so you can cast on about 20 sts or so and knit some stockinette and maybe a couple inches in the stitch pattern to see how it looks. Though lace is going to be [I]really[/I] loose and doesn’t look like much until you block it, which you can do with your sample.

#5

So I got started, and knit a stockinette patch to get used to the yarn. It really helped! Managed to make it all the way to chart 2 without any mistakes:) yay! But I do have a question about this part :
"From * to * is a 10 stitch repeat. Work additional repeats on subsequent repeats of row 15-34 sequence. Stitch counts are for successive repeats of row 15-34.

R 15: k3, yo, k4, (k2, yo, k1, yo, k1, k3tog, k3), K4, yo, [B]K1[/B], yo, k4, (k3, sk2p, k1, yo, k1, yo, k2), k4, yo, k3 (47, 87, 127, 167, 207……)"

So what I am reading it as that once I go through lines 15-34 then I will have to make appropriate repeats of this part of the pattern. until I am 4 stitches from the center Knit mark. Is that correct?

#6

Right, knit the first few sts (k3, yo k4) then repeat the next set until there’s 4 sts before the center K1 st. On this first time, you’ll probably have just the 10 sts, but when you do row 15 again (you’re to keep repeating Rows 15-34 over and over) you’ll be able to repeat the 10 sts 2 or 3 times before the center because you’ll have increased 20 sts on the 20 rows.

#7

Thanks so much! I am now well on my way ( with life lines:)