Victorian style sheet edging

With a Victorian home, and a love of Victorian style, I have for the last 20 years had Victorian style bedding. So instead of a modern duvet we have sheets, blankets, bedspreads, and eiderdown toppers. Think Downton Abbey! Much of our bedding is in fact antique, bought from Ebay and antique fairs. Therefore many of our sheets and pillowcases have crocheted or knitted lace edgings. I love them!

Alas, some of our antique sheets have worn out, so I have rescued the edgings from these to apply to new sheets. I have also previously applied tatted and crochet edgings that I made myself to pillowcases, but never knitted ones, and I have a yen to knit my own cotton edgings for bed linen. A few years ago I attempted to reverse-engineer the knitted edging from my favourite sheet, though I found the No 10 thread I had bought was too thick, and No 20 thread was too thin. So, having revisited my intention to knit a sheet edging, I have this weekend ordered some No 16 thread. Hopefully it will be 3rd time lucky!

While waiting for this thread to be delivered I have been working on a design for the edging, having unsuccessfully searched my books and the internet for an edging that satisfies my idea of knitted lace perfection. My edging has to have deep, uniform (even) scallops, several rows of eyelets right next to the edge, faggoting, and an insertion between the scallops and the sheet edge that it will be applied to. Here is what I have come up with.

Knitted in No 20 cotton on 1.25mm needles it is not dense enough for my liking, and the double mercerised cotton I have is too shiny and not drapey enough. I’m hoping the Anchor Freccia 16 I have ordered, which is supposedly a soft cotton, will better satisfy my very particular wishes!