Picking up stitches from the I-cord...

I’ve just got a new project on the needles....
It’s going to be a shawl,
I’m supposed to start with an I-cord and then pick up stitches from it after 147 rows.... 
So my question is: is there some trick to make this really easy to do? 
Because I really don’t find it easy to pick up stitches “just like that”...

Best wishes, Stephanie 

Stephanie, I’m familiar with the I-cord as a finishing touch, but not (yet) as a starting point.

What exactly do you mean by “easily” picking up stitches?
Do you have a pattern by a designer you can ask? That would, of course, be the easiest solution.

Maybe someone here can still help you and knows exactly what you mean.

Best regards, Monika

Hi Monika...
This is also the first time I’m knitting “this way.” Until now, I’d only ever used it as a finishing touch 🙈, but here it’s different....
The pattern is in English and pretty “complex,” but it’s exactly what I need right now—a complete distraction from everyday life and full concentration on my knitting...
So, I’m actually supposed to knit an i-cord—147 rows…
Then I’ll have the 3 stitches from the i-cord on the needle, and I’m supposed to pick up 147 stitches and then another 3 stitches from the cast-on edge…
153 stitches… that’s basically the beginning of this shawl, so to speak…
  That makes sense so far, but the way I pick up the stitches looks a little “weird”....
A bit tricky.... 

That really does sound complicated... 
Maybe you can find videos about it online if you enter it in a search engine. 
Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything else right now. ;-)

I’m sure I’ll figure it out “somehow”... 😂
This shawl is/was an MKAL, and I’ve totally “fallen in love” with it.... Others have managed to do it, too. But I can’t really ask them—my English isn’t that good, unfortunately. It’s enough for patterns, and usually for reading and understanding as well, but beyond that it gets difficult 😂

Hi Stephanie,

I was curious about this too, and I might have found something.
There’s a video on the I-cord cast-on. Maybe that’s what you’re looking for.

Try searching for “231* I-cord cast-on*” on YouTube.
I’m curious to see if it helps you.

Best wishes, Marion

Yeees....
exactly.... 
So I knit the I-cord first and then pick up the stitches from the edge. Too bad you can’t knit the stitches out directly... as shown: double the first stitch, knit two, slip three stitches back, then double the first one again, and so on... that would be easier...
But okay.... then I’ll start knitting again today 🙈

Best, Stephanie

Hi Stephanie,

in my pattern for the Quadratino Loop, I did it this way:

I knitted the I-cord, then inserted the crochet hook into each stitch and pulled a loop onto the hook. Once there are a few stitches on the crochet hook, slide them onto a circular needle. It works really quickly and well.

Best regards

Nici

I’m glad I could help you.

Will you show us your shawl when it’s finished?

Best wishes, Marion

Yeah, great—it actually “worked”....

Of course I’ll show you....
I’ve now knitted the I-cord for the third time... If you can count, you’ve got a clear advantage 🙈😄
And now I have the “right” number of stitches on my needle.
Next time, though, I definitely won’t use multi-strand yarn—it’s a bit tricky to knit with, but it looks great....