Help! LMKG-- Baby Denim Drawstring Pants

[Lindsey608]

I've started knitting Baby's Denim Drawstring Pants from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and run into a roadblock! Hopefully someone here can help..

The pattern has each leg of the pants knit separately in the round on dpn's. Then to join for the waist you're supposed to knit half of one leg on a 16" circ, cast on 5 for the crotch, knit the second leg, cast on another 5 for the (back) crotch, then knit the other half of the first leg and join into a round. (whew!) It sounded simple enough until I tried it...

First off, is there a trick to casting on in the middle of a row? I've never done this before. The book says to use the cable cast on method. I tried and when I got back around to knit the cast-on stitches in the next row they all unravelled!

The second problem I'm having is because both legs are already joined into a round I can NOT get them to stretch around a circ when I try to put them together.

Has anybody knit this pattern before who might be able to help?!

[Ingrid]

There is a video for cable cast on in the Basic Techniques section above, and you can also use the backward loop cast on for in the middle of a row.

I'm afraid I can't help you with fitting the stitches around the needle, except to say that if you can get through the first few rows it will get easier.