The Frilled Cast On and cast off are extremely simple and gives a pretty, frilled edge that looks like crochet and blocks quite flat on a Stockinette Stitch piece, and is a nice alternative to Ribbing, Garter or Moss Stitch when you want an edging that is more decorative or delicate. A frilled cast on or cast off is a really cute way to add some girlish flair to an edge. While it does take more yarn and a little more time than usual cast on or cast off, it's really pretty and stretchy, making it a great choice for necklines on children's clothing.
Frilled Cast On:Step1: Cast on 4 stitches using preferred method.
Step2: Pull the second, then the third, then the fourth stitch on the needle over the first stitch.
Step3: Cast on 1 stitch.
Repeat these three steps until you have the required number of stitches.
It is important to remember that you are casting on 4 times as many stitches as you normally would for a garment or piece in the width you are making, and so you will need a lot more yarn for the cast on if you are using the long tail method.
Frilled Cast Off :
The frilled cast off can be varied greatly depending on how dramatic and how far apart you want the picots to be. You can work the cast off on just one stitch at a time to make the points very small, or you can do several at a time to make them very large.
For the purposes of this illustration, I chose to cast on two stitches and cast off four stitches for each point. No matter how many stitches you cast on, always cast off twice as many stitches for each point.
The first step to making a frilled cast off is to cast on the appropriate number of stitches at the front of the needle with the stitches on it.
Now that you have your new stitches in place, it's time to begin the cast off.
Do this in the same way you traditionally cast off, knitting two stitches and then passing the first stitch over the second.
The number of stitches you cast off at one time should be double the number of stitches you cast on in step one. In this illustration, that means I cast off four stitches.
To continue the frilled cast off, slip that one stitch that's now on the right hand needle pack onto the left hand needle as if to purl. Cast on the same number of stitches you did at the beginning and then cast off the same number of stitches again.
Continue in this manner until you have worked all the way across the row. When you're down to just one stitch on the right hand needle, cut the yarn and pull it through the final loop as usual.
There are many ways to change the look of a frilled edge. Using smaller needles or casting on fewer stitches will make your points smaller, while casting on more stitches make them bigger. You might want to experiment on a swatch to decide what look you like for a particular project.
Happy Knitting!