Most knitters have a favourite cast-on and the German Twisted Cast-On is definitely mine. This relative to the long tail cast-on not only looks great, but is a good all-rounder too. I use it all the time and find that it’s just as good for casting on a hat as it is a shawl or a pair of socks. Basically anywhere I need to a robust, stretchy cast on, this is the one I go to.
I’ve found this one difficult to explain easily with pictures, so have decided to do a video tutorial instead. As this is a long tail cast-on you will need to pull out enough yarn for all the stitches you need to cast on. A good way of measuring this is to wrap the yarn around your needle, once for every stitch to cast on, then pull out an extra bit for good luck. Most tutorials use a slip knot to get going, but I find that this can leave an ‘ear’ where you began the cast on that isn’t always lost when joining in the round. This ‘knot-less’ method keeps the edge of your cast on smooth and seamless.