Picot
loop of thread created for functional or ornamental purposes along the edge of lace, ribbon, crocheted, knitted or tatted material
A picot /piko/ is a loop of thread created for functional or ornamental purposes along the edge of lace or ribbon, or crocheted, knitted or tatted fabric. The loops vary in size according to their function and artistic intention. The term is a diminutive derived from the French verb piquer, "to prick".
Method
To create a picot in tatting, the first half of a double stitch is made, but instead of pulling the half-stitch taut against the stitch before it, the half-stitch is pinched against the foundation thread and held some distance from the stitch before it. The distance at which the half-stitch is held determines the size of the picot. As the second half of the stitch is formed, it is slid down the foundation thread and into place next to the stitch before it. The resulting picot is thus anchored between two double stitches. It is also possible to anchor the picot between the two halves of a full double stitch.
In crochet, the hook is inserted into the third chain from the hook and pulled through all loops on the chain.
Uses
While picots were once largely ornamental, today they are functional as well.
“Picot” enters the record as loop of thread created for functional or ornamental purposes along the edge of lace, ribbon, crocheted, knitted or tatted material. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Picot, loop and thread can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Picot” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Picot, loop and thread provides the most credible route into that argument.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7191065. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Picot”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Picot primary sources, Picot archive and Picot research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Picot”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Picot” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.