CatBookMom’s Plaited Cables Seaman’s Scarf – I had to learn a new technique for this project! The provisional cast on. Its a fiddly little cast on at first, but got faster and faster as I practiced. Definitely, one to practice before trying it in a project. I checked it out in both my Stanley and in the Knitter’s Magazine handbook – neither set of instructions or illustrations was 100% for me, but the two together did the trick. I measured out about two feet of my project yarn and of a smooth cotton yarn – slip knotted together at one end. I was able to practice the cast-on, unravel it, and try again.
This picture is of the first swatch for this scarf — cast on with the provisional, knit a few rows, cast off, picked up the provisional, knit a few rows, cast off. The jog where the cast on was is clearly visible. The yarn is Caron One Pound acrylic, the colorway is Ocean.
And this is the main project cast on – the cast on is still visible, and I’ve completed one repeat of the cable pattern. The pattern suggests picking up the cast on now and knitting the ribbing, so I may do that – or I may work more pattern length. To put off deciding, I’m blogging about it. The waste yarn I’m using is visible at the bottom, ends tied together to anchor it. It’s a #10 mercerized cotton from my stash – sheer coincidence that the color matches.
Knit-Write 
I have done a provisional cast on a couple times. I hate it. I have only done a crochet version, I can barely chain. Can’t wait to see what the finished scarf will look like.