HERE are the great photos I used to learn the Twisted German Cast On.
As you can see from these photos I do it slightly differently using my thumb and left index finger to open up the loop and my right hand for wrapping the yarn around the needle. I recently read on Ravelry that my method is actually called the Maine Cast On but I've analyzed both cast on methods and the results seem the same to me and my method makes a cast on edge that doesn't curl for ribbing. (I also do the long tail cast on with this method using my left thumb for the loop and my right hand to wrap the yarn.)
This cast on is very similar to the long tail cast on. I start with a slip knot on the right needle with a long tail for the first cast on stitch. I wrap the tail end of the yarn around my left thumb, front to back. I use my ring finger and little finger to help tension the yarn.
I insert my left index finger over the outside yarn farthest from me and under the inside yarn closest to me to end up with a large loop as seen below.
I insert the right needle tip under the loop section on the far side of my thumb. This is opposite how I do the long tail cast on - for that I insert the right needle tip under the loop section on the near side of my thumb. I am careful NOT to grab the section of the yarn on the near side of my thumb with the needle.
With my right hand I wrap the yarn from the ball around the needle knitwise and knit one stitch being careful not to let the loop wrap around the needle twice. Then I tighten the loop by pulling the yarn in my left hand (the yarn tail) until the cast on loop is tight enough.
Here's what this cast on looks like up close. It looks like a regular cast on with a row of purl bumps on top.
I'm having trouble uploading my video of this cast on to Blogger but I'll keep trying this week.
