The Down Picot

    Well. It has been a few weeks since I have posted anything. Too much going on. Work is trying to kill me, of course, and the wife is laid up with sciatica so I have to tend to her. This is making for long days and little tatting.
    I am also preparing for Tat Days, just barely more than a week away. (Yes, someone will be with my wife.) I have been working out a couple of patterns in advance since I was asked to assist in a couple of the classes I signed up for.
   Another little thing I am trying to do is a new pattern, sort of made up as I go, but I have some idea where it is headed. I got to my third round and found I needed a technique I have rarely even thought of, much less used. The down picot is becoming quite useful suddenly. I don't know I have ever used it before. It is not hard to do at all, but solves a problem.
    In the photo, you can see that I have a chain going back up to where a ring will be, but the ring is not there and I am putting the chain as a sort of "liner" around the rings, mostly using lock joins. If the ring is not yet there, how can I attach to it? Make a down picot on the bottom of the chain. When I make the ring, I attach to the down picot and it is as if the ring had been there.

    These are simple to do. When you get to the point you need one, simply make 2 first half stitches, then the picot space, then 2 second half stitches. The picot will pretty much drop into place by itself. For a better look at the instructions, see the article on Jane Eborall's site.