Used the Chinese Waitress Cast-on.
CO 54 sts for a two-stitch i-cord on each side.

Mods:
Made into a one-row pattern by casting on a repeat of 6 plus 4 (plus two extra edge stitches since I wanted a two-stitch i-cord on each side). In my case 8 x 6 sts + 4 + 2 = 54 sts.
I would slip the first two stitches instead of one and then follow the rest of pattern row 1, ending with k4.

The two-stitch i-cord gives a square finish to the edges and mimics the slipped stitches in the fabric perfectly