Am nearly finished with a tablecloth. It measures 48x72, is rather lacy as I did it with coned polyester quilters thread that is close to crochet thread size 10, on size 6 needles. Would like a nice frilly edging but haven't been able to find one. Want it to be 4-5 inches wide,think that I will need probably 2 or 3 repeats for that wide. It's to go in my G-daughter's hope chest and will fit a dining room table that's been handed down 4 generations so far.
All of the patterns I find that even come close need to be done in a narrrow band and sewn on. Would like to pick up sts all around and then gradually double or triple the st count to give it that wavy(frilly) outside edge.
Any suggestions? Have looked through the 7 knitted edging books, and all the stitch pattern books but don't see any I would call frilly. Can't crochet, please don't suggest I learn, it's not an option for me, it has to be knitted.
There's not a big rush as I have to have surgery on my hand and will be away from the needles for 6-8 weeks.

I recently got the book "Estonian lace" (or the title is something like that). Anyway, there are several lace edges that might be useful in it. The book didn't cost much, and the shawls in it are breathtaking. Even if the pattern starts out flat, I don't see why you couldn't adapt them to make them more frilly.

Do you have Barbara Abbey's "Knitting Lace"? Many gorgeous lace edgings--I highly recommend it.

One thing to be aware of: Her notation style is not standard, but it's spelled out in the front matter and doesn't take long to get used to. (If you look through the book without knowing that, it'll scare the socks off you:-))

You might also try Nancie Wiseman, Lace From the Attic. It also has some lovely old edging patterns. If ;you pick up stitches around the edge and then double them before doing the actual pattern that might give even a flat edging a soft looking drapey edge

Another thing you could do is select a lace pattern that will work out to the width you want and attach it as you go by either k2tog or ssk with the edge stitch. You could even create a gathered look by working into one edge stitch two or more times. If you've ever done attached I-cord, it would be the same technique.

I would suggest trying this out on a small swatch to see if you like the way it looks at the join.

You clould of course attach your short row lace using sliding loop, which makes an invisible join. Knitting on means you will only have rows of 10 - 20 stitches, far less daunting than the hundreds of stitches for a picked up edge. Furthermore it is far easier to control

Whichever way you choose, use a fifeline. Thread a ball-ponted embroidery needle with dental floss and slip it through every stitch on your knitting needle. If you happen to make a mistake or drop a stitch in a lace pattern this is not a disaster because the dental floss retains the stitch, and when you are sure about your work, the dental floss removes easily.


Best wishes, John

Johnson & Johnson's stock just went up several points, as knitters everywhere rush out to buy dental floss! Thanks for an excellent tip, John.

Strikker

Be extremely careful when removing dental floss used as a lifeline. It can easily cut your yarn when removing it. A piece of crochet cotton can be a better choice.

Thank you everyone. I don't have any of the books mentioned(darn it) and the libraries around these parts don't either, but you have given me many ideas. Have never attached icord either, just never had a pattern that called for it. I was planning on picking up sts all around the piece because that just seemed the easy way to go. Have knitted on edgings but did not enjoy it one bit, sewing on doesn't bother me but I don't really like the way it looks. So, I usually pick up and knit on.
I have used lifelines in the past and am angry that I didn't do it on this piece. It is 220 sts wide and had to rip back 12 rows once when I dropped a st and it traveled down through the sections of y/o,sl1, K1, K2tog, psso,yo. It was a mess to go back through the rows of cables and lace, didn't use the floss because of the cutting problem. Luckily, that was my only major mistake in the whole piece except forgetting to do a y/o once in a while. I counted each and every 41 st repeat each time to make sure I didn't need to rip back.

Maybe a crocheted edge would work. If you had a hook that was small enough for the gauge (right now I can't think of the size you would need for thread that small) it might work out better than trying to keep all those stitches on your needles. If you're not sure how or what kind of crocheted edge to do, I'm sure there are books out there that could give you some ideas. A book on doilies might be helpful, too.

I would love to do a crochet edging, but as I said in the first post, I cannot crochet and since I have spent 50 years trying to learn, without any luck, knitting is my only option

Oopps! Sorry, I missed that!