I just finished the manly-button scarf! I’m not sure that I did the cast-on part correctly (in fact, I’m certain that I did not do it the way that I was instructed to), but even still I am shocked at how easy it actually was in the end. After some poking around online, I went with this set of instructions, and all went smoothly, almost.
My mother once told me that she would gladly do whatever was necessary to not have to parallel park, even if that meant walking five miles in the snow up hill both ways. I never quite understood this until yesterday, when I realized that I feel the exact same way about casting on. I know exactly one way to cast on (long-tail). And, I’m really, really happy with this cast-on. I will go to great lengths (ha ha) to use this cast on, even when asked to cast on 100+ stitches.
Looking at how to do the “required” cable cast on for this particular button hole has not changed my mind. I spent a fair amount of time saying “oh, no no no” as I watched the instructions unfold. Then, I spent way too long trying to figure out how to use a long-tail cast on. In the end, defeated, I sort of flailed around with the needles in a way that is sort of like a cable cast on – I didn’t make a slip knot, but just took the next stitch, knitted into it, then pulled that stitch onto the left needle, knit into it, slipped it back on, etc. I don’t think it would work for very many stitches, but it worked for the 4 that I needed!
I don’t have a good picture of the button hole itself, but I’m pretty happy with it. Here’s a picture of the final scarf, folded up and ready to wrap!
You ended up with the Knitted Cast-on, which is fine, too. It is claimed that the Cabled Cast-on is sturdier, which is why it’s suggested for buttonholes. (The instruction page should have showed how to do it starting with a knitted edge, since that’s how it’s used 99% of the time.)
Both of those cast-ons are handy for adding stitches where you’re basically knitting out of the air.
Longtail is the workhorse of cast-ons, but there are tons of other ways, some useful for certain situations, others just for pretty. I use tubular cast-on wherever I can, because I like the elegant edge it gives ribbing, but it’s not a good choice for non-ribbing starts.
Luckily, there’s no Knitting Police to force you to follow a pattern as written… You can go with what works for you – at least, most of the time…