Tutorial: Knitting a Picot Edge

Edgings are great ways to embellish an otherwise ordinary project, or even those projects that aren’t ordinary hehe. There are a few ways to do a picot edge, but today I’m going to show you how to a knitted picot edge in the easiest method that I know how.

To make the edge, you can choose to either begin the project with the picot edging, bind off with the picot edging or pick up an already bound off piece and add the edging. The directions after this point are fairly similar but the first row may be different depending on the project. Either way, make sure you have all of the stitches that you want on your needles for the edge.

Knit two rows in stockinette.

On the next row, yarn over and knit two together across all the stitches

Knit another two rows in stockinette.

This next part I kind of fandangled myself after having done a few edgings the “hard” way where you finish the piece then go back and sew the end of the piece together to make the edge. So instead of that, I bind off (or attach while continuing the work, whichever happens to be part of the project, in this case it is attaching while continuing the project) while sewing the edging in place.

This is done on the purl-side. I go through the front of the stitch on the left hand needle as if I’m about to purl then pick up the equivalent stitch that is on the opposite side of the YO rows where I began the first stockinette row for the edging (in this case the cast-on row) and knit the two together.

If I’m binding off at this time I also incorporate that into the work as the stitches are added to the right hand needle. Do this all across the row and you end up with a nice little detail on the edge of your work.

Did you like this tutorial? Did it make sense? What other tutorials would you like to see in the future?

Trimmings

What do you do when you have that piece that is just....ok. Its nice, its functional, its *almost* cool, but its not...quite....there....yet. You know the piece I'm talking about. You may even have more than one of them (I know I do).

Instead of tearing up the whole thing, or frogging it to shreds in frustration, try adding a trim of some kind.

That way, the bulk of your item stays the same, functional, cool piece you created but its not just *almost* cool anymore, its now super cool!

Don't know what kind of trim to use? Something simple, complicated, lacy, ribbed? Come Monday I will post a tutorial for knitting a picot edge for your *almost* cool piece! This will be the first in a series of edges and trimmings. In order for me to know which edges you would like to see, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to give you what you want!

Vanna's Choice Contest Entry

The moment I heard about the Vanna's Choice Contest I just knew I had to enter.

I bought enough skeins of various colors in the yarn required for the contest and got to work dreaming up what I wanted to make even though the deadline was drawing near. I decided that I wanted to make a beret-type hat which turned out.....ok. Not the greatest, but I'm sure it will pique somebody's interest. The project that I have submitted to the contest was this super cute baby sweater.

The body is all a gorgeous yellow color. Flowers and leaves were knit in various colors and attatched to the fronts of the cardigan and the stems were embroidered on. The three little red buttons are quite possibly my favorite part of the cardigan, even beyond the adorable picot edging around the sleeves and bottom edge of the sweater. They just a pop of closure!

The sweater is being modeled by a friend's very photogenic 3 month old, she was very cooperative ;)