lets go clubbing

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 aha, don't get the wrong idea! The reference is to clubbing of laces to create a new version! And being Holi, it's an excuse to play and party with friends today.

So, Bandini approached me with her pattern to do the presentation and also share with the community through my blog and I couldn't say no. She very cleverly joined two edgings on either side of a central braid giving rise to a broad tatted lace that looks quite different from its individual constituents. 

Lace Club Border by Bandini Maisheri (2025) -https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aVWxNtGBoRlK9Hmx3UScuKHMvillA-4o/view

This is my small WIP sampler in size 40 showing the central SR braid and one edging joined to it. 

The same edging is also joined on the other side of the braid in the border.

Except for the SR braid which requires two shuttles, the edgings can be worked with a shuttle and ball.

And here the 3rd edging is attached to the 2nd one for a medium-sized border.

Again this is done on the other side as well.

But you get the idea! You can pick and choose as many or as few edgings for the desired width.

Play with tatting in more colours and beads and this widens the canvas even further! More in tune with colourful Holi ;-D

You can even change the sequence of working each row to suit your preference. I chose a sequence which was simplest to present as a diagram and text.

 

She tells me that her mother has already tatted 9 meters of this border, no doubt for a saree!

And I like the term she used - 'clubbing'!

Another fun aspect is that each can be a standalone edging, too! So we get a LOT more in this pattern than a single broad border!

All details are in the PDF (click to download) - Lace Club Border by Bandini Maisheri (2025) - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aVWxNtGBoRlK9Hmx3UScuKHMvillA-4o/view

Hope you enjoy playing with it!

Many many thanks to Bandini for graciously sharing her cleverly clubbed pattern !

colour me happy

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As we approach Holi, the festival of colours, happiness came my way through friends who participated in my design-along challenge!

On a lark I had converted my motif into a DAL challenge here and am so happy to see the motifs flowing in, along with respective patterns!!! Instead of waiting, let me share the progress so far. Interestingly, 5 of the 7 current participants are my Italian friends. They never fail to impress.

Compiled in this document, Muskaan's 2025 DAL Challenge  - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQmdXWXQmcbXQ48nRz9FBeTJf_DoJqKz/view  Save this link and read for more details and updates (and larger images).

In the order the first image appeared .... 

Daniela Galli

Paola Bevilacqua

Silvana Buonvino

Michelle Forclaz

Adriana Tomanin

Lella Loops

Muskaan

I've tried to keep this post short and direct since all details are already in this document -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQmdXWXQmcbXQ48nRz9FBeTJf_DoJqKz/view

There are no words to profusely thank Daniela, Paola, Silvana, Michelle, Adriana, & Lella!

Most of them had participated in last year's DAL Celtic Snowflake challenge, too! You can join any time you wish and contact/tag me when you do! I'm sure most of these models will inspire you to take up the challenge. It doesn't matter if you tat with a needle or shuttle, if you haven't designed before, ... you can do it!

update with video

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There are frequent requests for videos instead of a pictorial or a schematic to showcase a technique or even a pattern. A sign of changing times which is fine by me except that videography is not my preferred method. I have watched several of Karen's videos over the years and learned from them. Yet I prefer the stepwise layout whether in a blog or printed so that I can try at my own pace; study each step and position of thread minutely when required; and I don't need to rewind back and forth. Refreshing my memory is also easier with pictorials and diagrams coz I can easily skip steps and focus on what I need. Personal preferences, no judgment. 

Anyways, in one of the FB tatting groups, a tatter bought Rebecca Jones'  1985 book, 'The Complete Book of Tatting' after I shared my direct method tatting post here -https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/02/direct-method-tatting.html . She could figure out the first step of how to start a ring or chain with a lark's head knot. However, she had trouble with how to continue with the half-stitches. I decided to make a quick video for her eyes only. But I think it isn't too bad and would perhaps be of help to others, too. 

So here is the direct link to the video - Rebecca Jones' Direct Method Tatting: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bsXzAGaSacKqw06CC3Uq24ImB2t6-sUA/view

I have tatted 3 double stitches in a ring in this demo. Hope it helps. Please excuse my clumsiness and background. Like I said, videography is not my go-to format, and I shot this in one go ;-D

Comparison - 
What I later realised is that this in one of two ways to make a lark's head picot join (LHPJ) or lark's head join (LHJ)! Watch Karen Cabrera's Lesson #101 - Lark's Head Join.

And now I remembered that Ninetta Caruso uses the 1st half-stitch movement while tatting the wide picot! Her video - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XsqlFZHcVpopvRFBhTgR6_oQWqf98Bw7/view  and my pdf and post here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/02/going-wide.html .

Love to find connections! Happy tatting!