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Cast On
    With all three yarns and leaving short tails, make a slip knot and place on the needle. The slip knot does not count as a stitch.

    Hold the yarns in the slingshot position, with yarn A (this is the color that forms the contrast edge; in this case, navy) going to the thumb and yarn B (light blue) going to the index finger. Allow yarn C (lavender) to just hang out of the way at the back. Yarn A (navy) is always on the thumb; yarns B (light blue) and C (lavender) alternate on the finger.

    Insert the needle tip under both strands of yarn on your thumb.

    Bring the needle over the top and down into the thumb loop, coming out underneath the strand that is in front of your thumb.

    Bend your left thumb toward the index finger and reach over the top of the strand on your index finger.

    The loop on your thumb now has an X in it. Bring the needle tip through the bottom (nearest the needle) of the X.

    Drop the thumb loop and tighten the stitch.

    Drop yarn B (light blue) to the front and bring yarn C (lavender) up behind it, holding yarn C over the index finger.

    Repeat steps 3–8, always dropping one color yarn to the front and bringing the new color yarn up behind it. The thumb yarn always stays the same.
Beginning to Knit
    Remove the slip knot when working the first row of knitting. Your first row of knitting will be a wrong-side row if working flat. If knitting in the round, join stitches and begin with the first right-side row.

Provisional Cast Ons
    A provisional cast on is a temporary cast on . It is worked so that the cast-on stitches can be removed later and the live stitches placed on a needle to be knit. The cast on is done with waste yarn — a smooth, slippery yarn, often in a contrasting color, that can be easily removed. It is a useful cast on for knitting hems and for edges where you want to add a border or knit in the opposite direction later. It is ideal for scarves when you want both ends to be identical: Start with a provisional cast on at what will be the center of the scarf, knit half, and then go back and remove the cast on and work the second half of the scarf to match the first.
    One thing that should be noted about provisional cast ons is that the stitches are actually formed by the loops
between
the upper stitches, and thus are one-half stitch off from the stitches going upward. This doesn’t matter if you are knitting stockinette or ribbing. If you plan, however, to continue a color or texture pattern, the stitches will be offset from each other. You can get around this by working a few rows of another stitch or adding a contrasting color stripe before working down.

    Provisional
page 110

    Provisional Crochet 1
page 113

    Provisional Crochet 2
page 116

Provisional Cast On
    This method has you cast on stitches around a piece of waste yarn. The waste yarn is never knit; it merely serves as a base to hold the cast-on stitches together. I find it easiest to use a contrasting color of waste yarn so I can tell the two yarns apart. But I love this method the most because of this tip: Instead of using waste yarn, I use the cable of a circular needle to cast on, and when I am ready to knit the second half, the stitches are already on the needle, so I don’t have to pull anything out!
    Extras Waste yarn; circular needle (optional)

    CHARACTERISTICS
    â€¢ Provisional edge
    â€¢ Easiest provisional method if you have a circular needle
    GOOD FOR
    â€¢ Adding a border or I-cord
    â€¢ Working in the opposite direction later
    â€¢ Hems
Working the Cast On
    Knot the working yarn together with the waste yarn in an overhand knot ( page 12 ). Hold the knot and needle in your right hand, using the index finger to hold the knot against the needle.

    Hold the waste yarn over your left thumb, and the working yarn over your index finger in the slingshot position.

    Reach under the waste yarn, over the top of the working yarn, and bring the working yarn under and in front of waste yarn. This