Adding your own flourishes and embellishments to your knitting can be a really satisfying thing and only takes a bit of confidence and know how. It's a lovely thing to be able to take a basic pattern shape and make it your own -adding different buttons, ribbons or embroidery can really release your creative juices and allows you to customize your knitting to suit your own individual style and produce something completely unique.
Adding a fancy edging can be a simple but very effective way of transforming a simple knitting pattern into something really special. One of the simplest edgings is a picot. Picot edging is deceptively simple to do, yet gives a delicate, pretty and, dare I say, 'whimsical' flourish to your knitting!
It is made from a combination of casting on and off - the more stitches you cast off, the wider the gap between the bobbles. One Basic picot is done by casting off 2 stitches. It's done as follows:
*Cast on 5 stitches. Cast off 2 stitches. Slip stitch on Right Hand needle back onto Left Hand needle*(3 stitches should now be on the Left Hand needle.) Repeat from * to * until you have the desired number of stitches on needle to begin the rest of your pattern. e.g. if your pattern requires 47 stitches to be cast on, follow from * to * until you have 47 stitches on the left hand needle.
Continue in the rest of your pattern as normal!
Jo Black has a passion for knitting and craft and believes that everyone can find their bliss through knitting. She's a working Mum living in England with her son, partner and a rather large stash of knitting yarn!
You can find more knitting tips and techniques are http://www.blissedoutknitting.com
Source: www.articledashboard.com
