How to Knit a Picot Cast-On

Mindy Wilkes’s Arnica Shawl from Knitscene Spring 2015 starts with a picot cast-on, a lovely decorative edge that creates picots, or tiny loops, at the edge of the shawl.

This shawl begins with the picot edge, and then works a lovely lace pattern before working short-rows to finish the top of the crescent shawl shape. This knitted shawl is part of our Golden story, but I’ve seen it knit in an orange, a blue, and even a lovely variegated colorway—you’re only limited by your stash! Or the colors available at your local yarn store.

I love learning new methods of how to cast on knitting projects, so I grabbed some needles and made a short video demonstrating casting on with the picot method. As a bonus, this particular cast-on begins with the knitted cast-on method as well, so there’s a refresher course in how to work the knitted cast-on if you need it.

I promise I am not actually a smurf, this is what happens when you are relying on natural light but the shirt you’re wearing is blue… oops.

The video demonstrates how the picot cast-on is worked for the Arnica Shawl, but there are variations in ways to create this edging. Some picot cast-ons begin with a cabled cast-on; the Ribbon Tool Shawl from Interweave Knits Spring 2015 uses a cast-on that creates a picot edge. If you have a way of working a picot cast-on, or any other decorative cast-on, that you love, please let me know in the comments!