From Sarah E. White,
Your Guide to Knitting.
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The very first step in any knitting project, from the simplest scarf to the most intricate lacy shawl, is the cast on. Casting on is simply the way that you get stitches onto the needle so that you can start knitting.

There are many different ways to cast on, and different methods are useful for different kinds of projects. If you are new to knitting, though, there are two main types of cast on that are useful and easy to learn: the knitted cast on and long-tail cast on.

Before we get to those, however, we need to start at the very beginning -- with a slip knot.