Is it normal to...(in knitting)?

to do start off by regular cast-on and all of a sudden do a 2 knit %26amp; 2 purl? b/c idk my cousin showed me but she didn't tell me every single detail....and also if you can add sources, if it includes books THAT WILL BE GREAT, THANKS IF YOU CAN HELP p.s if there's a specific cast-on for the ribbing aka purl, plz show me


Have a good day and Happy Holidays :)

Is it normal to...(in knitting)?
You just cast on as usual, then do your k2, p2 ribbing. http://www.knittinghelp.com is a wonderful resource for a beginning knitter. It has lots of great, detailed videos. Good Luck!!
Reply:If there is a special cast-on for ribbing, I've never seen it or heard of it. I always cast on as normal, and then start my pattern with my first row. (k1p1 or k2p2 or anything else) Works for me.





There IS a special cast-OFF for ribbing. Maybe that's what you heard about. If you want the end of the ribbed part to be a little stretchier (neck, etc) so you can get it on more easily, cast off in whatever ribbing pattern you were using. If you want it to be less stretchy, knit all your casting-off stitches.
Reply:Any cast on will work for ribbing, but if you want one with some elasticity that won't be sloppy (the backwards wrap around the thumb is easy to learn, but tends to be sloppy looking after the first knit row) then learn either the long tail cast on or knitting on the stitches. Then you can confidently go into your ribbing. When you cast off ribbing, cast off in pattern as well. IOW, if you are doing k2, p2, you will continue to knit and purl as appropriate during the cast off, this adds to the stretch at that end. Just knitting in a ribbed cast off is visible and lacks the same amount of *give*.





One tremendous book for novice knitters which is widely available in the library is the late Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Knitting Without Tears". There are also many on-line tutorials and instructionals for knitting, as well as a number of Yahoo groups on knitting.