The first step in forming the knit stitch is called opening the loop. With the needle with the stitches on it in your left hand and the empty needle in your right hand, the working yarn should be to the back of the work. The stitches are facing you, with the bumpy part of the loops facing in toward you body. Make sure you're working through the single loop, and not the bumpy part, when you form your stitches.
Slip the tip of the right-hand needle into the first loop, from front to back, just like you did in the knitted cast on.
