Knitting Shawls – Cast-On and Increases Too Tight

Hi everyone,
I love knitting shawls, but I always have the problem that the cast-on edge and the increases end up too tight, causing the piece to curl or roll up unattractively and become inelastic. I’ve already tried various cast-on techniques and try to make the increases very loose, but nothing helps.
I’d be grateful if anyone here had a tip for me.
Thanks and best regards

Dear Rosalinde,
I do have a tip for the cast-on, at least: Use two needles held together for the cast-on. Or at least a needle that’s 1 to 2 sizes larger. You’ll probably need to test this on a swatch. I used to cast on that way all the time :-)

As for the increases: Which increase technique do you use? There are quite a few different ones. You might find the following increase technique interesting:

On the right side row, make a yarn over.
On the wrong side row, knit the yarn over through the back loop. (Knitting it through the back loop prevents a hole from forming, unlike in lace knitting.)

This should actually prevent the increases from being too tight.
Warmest regards,
Steffi

Hi Rosalinde,

take a look on YouTube for the so-called “crocheted cast-on.” It’s relatively loose (at least for me).
Increases can be done in various ways. The question now is, how have you been doing them so far? Using kfb, a yarn over, or knitting into the strand between the stitches?
You could check YouTube for that, too. Personally, I really like to increase with a yarn over. If I don’t want any holes, I knit that yarn over through the back loop on the next row. Then there’s also the option of working a stitch from the stitch in the previous row.
With so many variations, you’re sure to find one that suits you best.

Wishing you

the best of luck, Michaela