Liz asked in the comments about the cast-on for the Fiddlehead Scarf I made a while back, so here are some notes about how to do it. I will confess that I had to ask Ted how he'd done it, and we both agreed that the instructions on that point could have been a little clearer.
I apologize in advance for the photos -- our ancient camera is incapable of doing close-ups, so this is about the best we can do. I'm grateful it's still working, as this has been the month of everything turning to toast (my beloved little French iBook died this week. I cannot tell you how bereft I am, as it was my only way of accessing the fast internets via the library. Now I am left unable to do that, unable to download podcasts or get anything done quickly.)
But I digress:
The cast-on for the scarf is the long-tail cast on, so the first thing you'll need to do is figure out how long a length to leave. If you google it, there are formulas out there on the web, but essentially you wrap the yarn around the needle X times (where X is a certain number of stitches), and you figure out how many times X goes into your total number of stitches needed, and then you multiply your length of yarn by that number.
And then, you double it, because you've got to use your tail doubled for this.
To start, take your length of yarn:
Double it back on itself (leaving the appropriate length of tail for the cast-on):
The end of the yarn is in my right hand in the above photo.
Then, make a slip knot at the point where the end is in your right hand:
Leave a longer end than I did here -- you'll want enough that you can weave it in once you're finished.
Next, place the slip knot on the needle, and start working the long-tail cast-on. The single strand of yarn will go over your index finger, and the now-doubled strand will go over your thumb, thusly:
Keep working the cast on with the single strand over your index finger and the double strand over your thumb until you have cast-on all the stitches you need for the scarf:
I hope this is clear -- I know the photos aren't quite close enough, and they're a little dark, because I had to wait until The Other got home last night to take them for me. But I think this gives you the gist of what's going on with that cast-on.
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