i'm a big fan of knitting a row or two before joining. once you've got a couple rows there it's much easier to avoid a twist!

I'm with Jody - I have more than once ended up putting in twist on the second row - got the join right, but when I finished knititng around the first row, put a complete twist in when starting the second. Knit a couple rows flat first.

Wow. I'm dizzy just reading about it.

Shoot, Teresa C beat me to it. We're thinking alike on this one. I've got one word for all you've written:

Scary.

;-)

Ok, here's my suggestion:

Find some lengths waste linen and crochet *through the linen and putting the stitches onto your needle.

That way, when you are done with the casting on, you can either tug or cut those waste linen strips away. The way they hang will also help you avoid twisting. (Japan Clover has a similar gadget.)

Sorry I can't help, I got scared at the thought of casting on over 1000 stitches and blacked out!

I like your basting idea. But even simpler, why not just safety pin to a piece of fabric. Given the length, maybe a ribbon would work even better than fabric. Way to take on a challenge!