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Picots

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Victorian needlework and craft projects

for lovers of the Victorian Era!

Picots are ornamental knotted stitches used in embroidery to decorate edges or borders. There is a great variety and, once the method of working has been mastered, others may easily be invented. Three of the simplest ones are described here.

Bullion Picot, founded on Bullion stitch.

Make a Bullion roll in the usual way. Draw the needle through the roll; twist the roll into a semi-circle on the border; secure it with a firm stitch. See Illustration (a) below.

Click on picture to see more detail.

Buttonhole or Chain Picot is a succession of Chain Stitches twisted into a cluster.

Make a Chain stitch as in illustration (b) below, then another inside it, and so on for about six, keeping the chain loose. Turn them round into a cluster, securing to the border with a firm stitch.

Click on picture to see more detail.

Thorn Picot or Loop Picot.

Place a pin in the border as in Illustration (c), pass the thread round the head and secure the loop thus made in position by a stitch in the border, bringing out the needle inside the loop. Hold the thread down with the left thumb. Insert the needle as in the illustration, under both the loop and the thread which is still held down under the needle point. Draw the needle through, thus fastening the Picot by a Buttonhole stitch. Withdraw the pin and proceed similarly.

Click on picture to see more detail.

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