The slipknot

When you are ready to start knitting, the first step is to get your yarn on the needle.  The slipknot will be the very fist stitch on your needle, followed by a cast-on method of your choice.  The slipknot is a stopper knot which can easily be undone by pulling the tail.  It allows you to set up your cast-on row and anchors the stitches that are to follow.  It also sets the size of the stitches to follow