Detailed instructions on how to tie a slip knot for knitting beginners
Whenever you cast on stitches for a knitting project, you will almost always start with a simple knot. But how to tie a slip knot? In this quick tutorial, I’m going to show you two easy methods to do so.
Both are incredibly easy and it will only take 5 secs.
1. Tying a slip knot with your hands
Step 1: Create a loop; your working yarn should be on your left, the tail on your right.
Step 2: Insert your thumb and your index finger into the loop.
Step 3: Grab the working yarn and pull it through.
Step 4: Tighten up the knot by pulling .
Step 6: Slip the knot on your needles and tighten up further.
Note: If you want to use this for knitting, then the loose, adjustable part should be the one connecting to your working yarn.
2. Use knitting needles to cast on a slip knot
You can also easily cast on a slip knot with your knitting needles. This may seem a bit more complicated at first and you may wonder: Why should I do it this way?
The answer to that question is amazingly simple. Once you wrapped the yarn around your fingers, you can just continue with the long tail cast on in the very same position. This means you are actually saving time.
Step 1: Wrap the yarn around your pinky finger & bring the yarn across the back of your hand.
Step 2: Create a loop around your thumb clockwise.
Step 3: Secure the yarn between the ring and pinky finger.
Step 4: Insert one or two needles (depending how tight or lose you want the knot) into the loop around your thumb from below
Step 5: Grab the yarn towards the index finger from ABOVE.
Step 6: Pull it through.
Step 7: Let loose of the yarn and tighten up.
And there is your slip knot.
Now you might say: Woah, Norman, you are crazy. 7 steps, this is just too complicated and takes forever. It’s not!
In reality, It takes me about 2 secs to tie a slip knot with this method. Once you practiced it two or three times, it’s incredibly efficient and easy. You can easily continue knitting from there, and the slip knot is already nice and tight on your needles.
Here is one important thing: If you want to create a long tail cast on, then make sure the tail is long enough so you don’t run out of yarn. Here’s a guide that shows you how much yarn you need for a long tail cast on.
So, that’s it. This was my little tutorial on how to tie a slip know. I hope I was able to show you this easy knitting technique. Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments below.
