Hey friends,
I love love love <3 the cable cast on, and I find that it's one of the most versatile and easy cast-on in knitting.
It's less tedious than the long-tail cast on: forget ever needing to estimate the tail length, you simply need a slipknot and you can get going!
P.S: Quick tip to estimate the tail of a long-tail cast-on that's been working well for me in the past, is 3 times the length that you'll need, plus 8"-12" (20-30 cm). You'll need less length if you're working with smaller needle sizes, like US 0s (2.00 mm) and such, and more if you're working with larger sizes, like US 10+ (6.00 mm+).
The Cable Cast-on is stretchy, and the little twisting that happens at the cast-on edge makes it so pretty on garments!
When I use it, it's like my needles are having a party, dancing together and it feels so magical. The cable cast-on makes me eager to start a new project, instead of dreading the long tail fuss.
Here's what the cable cast-on looks like. See the bottom loops? so pretty! <3
I use it almost every time. The other day, I opted to use the long-tail, and I instantly regretted it. It's tedious, I kept getting mixed up between the tails. The long-tail is a good tool to know, and I used to only swear by it (this and the german cast-on), but now times have a-changed and it's all about the cable cast-on in my house!
So, I'm not gonna blabber at length about it anymore, like the dinner recipe you looked up on Google and are desperately trying to get to but have to go through the author's life before you get there (you can thank SEO for this...).
If you haven't tried the cable cast-on, here's the tutorial. Enjoy!