I purchased the Updated Vogue Knitting Ultimate Knitting Book .  Looking at the different cast on methods, I decided to try the i-cord provisional cast on for circular knitting for my Dark Night Rose sweater.  As I wrote in this blog post, the sweater consists of hexagon medallions that are knit in the round from the center out.  Each medallion begins with 12 stitches spread across 3 double pointed needles.   I find it awkward to get started until there are more stitches on the needles and this seemed like a good solution.  Here’s what I did:

Using one of the double pointed knitting needles, I cast on the 12 stitches that begin the medallion and knit about 1 inch of i-cord using a contrasting color yarn of the same weight.

Following the instructions, I knit one round of the hexagon using the project yarn.

With the i-cord yarn still attached, I continued to knit in the pattern until I had 24 stitches on the needles(8 on each)

The last step was a little tricky since this is fingering weight yarn.  The instructions call for threading a tapestry needle and going through the first row of stitches to pull the center tight.  I think I need to try this step when the first row of stitches is on the needle and then continue to knit the rounds before I remove the i-cord.

The result is wonderful.  Here’s the center of the medallion completed and I was able to save the i-cord so I can use it again for the next medallion.

This is the first time I’ve tried this cast on method and I’m really pleased with it.  It will be my go to for knitting from the center out when the center has a small number of stitches.

Have you tried any new cast on methods or do you stick to the same one over and over no matter what the project?