The Knitting Fiend

I found directions this unnamed edging at www.knitting-and.com; they said the edging directions came from an unknown Australian source from the 40’s and were in the public domain. I’ve decided to call it “Lace Flounce Edging”; if you know the real name, let me know!

When I followed the directions posted, there appeared to have a few errors, which I corrected. I also reorganized the directions to help the knitter incorporate this edging into their own design.

I fiddled with this at knit-club. We all agreed that, while pretty, we prefer the sharks tooth edging for the shawl I plan. I think this edging might be nice on the hem of sleeves; the bottom would flare making a tulip effect.

Here’s how I knit the portion below the blue line:

• Cast on 33 sts and knit one row.
• Row 1: k5, place marker, p16, (yo, k2tog) to last 2 sts, yo, k2. (– 34 stitches.)
• Row 2: k29, turn. (You will reach the marker and turn.)
• Row 3: p17, (yo, k2tog) to last 2 sts, yo, k2. (– 35 stitches.)
• Row 4: k to marker, slip marker, k5.
• Row 5: k5, slip marker, k16, (yo, k2tog) to last 2 sts, yo, k2 (– 36 stitches.)
• Row 6: k13, p18, turn. (You will reach the marker and turn.)
• Row 7: k1, (yo, k2tog) to last 2 sts, yo, k2. (– 37 stitches.)
• Row 8: k18, p14, slip marker, k5.
• Row 9: k5, slip marker, knit to end of row.
• Row 10: Cast off 4, k to marker, slip marker, k5.(– 33 stitches.)
• Repeat rows 1-10.

Notice that rows 2 and 6 are “short”; when you turn, the five stitches on the other side of the marker remain on the left needle. Turning like this results in a slightly ruffled flounce attached to a 5 stitch wide garter stitch strip.

If you want to attach to the edge of a piece you’ve already knit, as I did for the portion above the blue line, and which I don’t recommend, do the following:

• Cast on only 29 stitches.
• On the first knit row, work up to the final stitch. Then work a “k2tog”, working the last edging stitch and the first shawl stitch.
• On all odd rows except 3 and 7 change k5 to slip 1. (You will be slipping that k2tog.
• On all even rows except 2 and 6, replace “k5″ with “k2tog” ; the k2tog will involve the last edging stitch and a stitch from the shawl edge.

Why don’t I recommend attaching afterwards? Well, I think the small series of holes at the attachment point class with the rest of the edging. In contrast, this series of holes looked nice when I attached the sharks tooth edging. So, I advise knitting attaching this some other way.

Still looking for more and better edgings. (And kinda having fun doin’ it!)