off the deep end

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 Well, kind of! I'm certainly mad to have succumbed to temptation when there are already so many huge pies baking in my tiny oven. The heat quotient is out of the world! Yet it has been a decade-old wish to tat the beautiful Mystery Doily. I've actually been compiling resources and versions for a decade whenever I came across something .... And so can you blame me if I joined Jon Yusoff's tat-along on FB intending to tat just 2 or 3 rounds for now.

Pattern Links to the Mystery Doily Project first shared by Georgia Seitz -https://www.theonlinetattingclass.com/doilies-mug-rug-etc

I roped in my tatting buddy, Anita Barry, and she readily agreed. To date, she has Never refused me anything!!! We've been exchanging note, thoughts, angst, and progress these last few days. While I was thinking of size 80, she suggested size 40 since she wanted to use up some of her stash. It was absolutely fine by me, or so I thought!

Yes, angst. My story starts with several discards. Don't remember why I cut off the one in orange. Was it a change of colour decision? I think I decided to use it for the next round and start the first with yellow.

The rings are tiny - only 8 stitches. And while closing that last ring the tread snapped! Better to discard since the thread (Gopal) is not mercerized.

 

Wound new shuttle with Anchor size 40. Now the inner scallop of first repeat looks very different since it is unattached. I got all muddled up thinking I had made a mistake and snipped it off. Turns out it was correct, sigh.

4th start with lighter shade of Anchor yellow. While I was struggling with the chain directions (since I was shuttling between diagram and original doily pic) I thought I'd got it right. Till I uploaded the pic to a larger screen and found an error in one segment. Not a huge mistake, but still the dark brown wasn't helping my limited vision. Even managed to snag the thread at one stage and joined again. 

Overall, though, I wasn't enjoying the tat and decided it was time for course correction and snip off the size 40 altogether. 

Finally settles on Anchor Pearl Cotton size 8 (equivalent to Lizbeth size 20) and this is how far I reached after dinner last night. Tatting went smoothly and quickly, I enjoyed the thread (the shade appears darker here), and I have more of a choice of colours, too. Would've preferred a lighter brown, but turns out I am running out of greens and browns in perle cotton! Looks like some buying in on the cards ;-D

What also helped was that I sketched my own diagram and although I wrote my text version, too, I didn't need to consult it.

My visualization is to change the colour of the rings in each subsequent round, using darker shades or even different colours, to resemble a chrysanthemum or a blossoming flower. Brown remains constant throughout.

Okay, so that's the backstory. If it hadn't been for the FB tat-along and especially with my buddy, I might've discontinued the endeavour for the present. Somehow tatting with others felt like a commitment and something I needed to accomplish for myself, too. 

Now for my notes -

1. Pattern - I referred mainly to Patty Dowden's instructions, starting with an outer ring, and also followed her count.
2. FS/BS tatting here is in 'blocks' like in Mary Konior's Spinning Wheel Glass Mat where a set of motifs/repeats changes en bloc. So the outer scallop has frontside rings while the inner scallop has backside rings.
3. I followed the original doily pic and Patty's Row 2 diagram for the 'S-chain' instead of her diagram for Row 1. Ultimately I drew my own sketch instead of shuttling back and forth.
4. Direct Tatting - In such serpentine patterns (including magic squares), it is very practical to direct tat the chains instead of frequent reverse work. This also keeps the work mostly on the front side. Hence reverse stitch the chains, ensuring that you make adjustments for the sequence of the hitches when tatting backside chains.
5. Joins - For symmetrical/mirror-image chains, including colour and direction, I used a reverse join on the right S chain and a downward picot (picot on core thread) on the left chains.
6. Reposition - And before the picot on core thread (I wanted it to be yellow to mirror a ring picot), I used a TwW (a 2nd half-stitch which it turned to face the other way), reversed work, and then placed the paperclip on core (yellow) thread. 
7. Colour - My first instinct was to follow Jon's variegated and solid combo scheme. However, seeing the tiny rings and my own stash, it just felt that a variegate would make the already dense design too busy. Hence I chose solid colours.
8. Thread - Remember to use mercerized cotton for easy closure of the tiny rings.

As I mentioned above, here are some additional links - 

• moondrops has tatted several versions of this doily, sometimes in tandem! She makes it look so effortless. I think it is a good exercise to check her versions for colour placement, etc.
• Frivole gave it a try - https://leblogdefrivole.blogspot.com/2013/09/mystery-doily-whos-copy-cat-now-and-new.html & https://leblogdefrivole.blogspot.com/2013/09/mystery-doily-round-two.html
• Ninetta completed her doily, sharing her journey, and even derived a square motif (quad 24) from it, and then converted it into a magic square, including an inverted version! 

Can't say how far this doily will go at present reckoning, but I am committed to at least two rounds to get a good feel of this beauty! Jon has created a dedicated private group for this TAL, called Georgia's Mystery Doily Tat-Along. Join us if you can!

 

UPDATE: 

Reposition Methods (either after a lock join, a picot join, or free) to change the thread, shuttle, direction, or colour --- For convex/concave chains - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JxcO-ubKP1KXb_CVAAfOMX6uBPkCy_gO/view 

and more - https://drive.google.com/file/d/17zsM3JaLO7r0ajg8VOnv5IcJ-kLNqEiU/view 

And my completed Round 1 -

It's enticing And it's addictive!!!!!

a 3 in 1 leaf

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Ninetta has announced our new game for the month of October however I couldn't post my second submission for September in time even though I finished tatting it on the night of 30th Sep ;-D

 What can I say! When I have multiples of any motif I enjoy rearranging them to see what shapes emerge. I've already shown several such for the E15 Leaf Doodle #1. This motif is so adaptable that it boggles my mind. (All links related to E15 leaves are at the end of this post)

This time I took all three versions (tatted back in Dec2023) and thought the arrangement looked very much like the leaf of a grape plant. All that was needed was to tat an edge all around them, keeping them in place and wouldn't take too long.

I placed them again on blank paper and drew an outline in pencil. Took a pic. I referred back to the pic several times to confirm where to join. 

Used Victorian sets with a few picots thrown in for a textured outline. A darker shade of thread was an oopsie, not deliberate, LOL.

TIP: In Victorian sets, make the picot between 1st half-stitch set and 2nd half-stitch set for it to face outward. And a slightly longer picot.

I was simply winging it and have no stitch count. There is a very short split chain at the base to center the stem. I've left a few inches of tails for future addition.

Tatting didn't take long as expected, but unfortunately  I couldn't include the intended bunch of grapes in time. Task for future, hopefully within this month. 

If you look closely you will also see a bit of a mess in the center. No sweat! In nature perhaps a little birdie or a caterpillar shredded a portion and that's what it is ;-D

I think this looks better in real than in the pics - hubby identified it immediately as a grape leaf - and I could've done a better job. Nevertheless the joy counts for a great deal! Call it Leaf Relief!!!

Related Posts - 

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-power-of-15.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/12/lets-flourish.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/12/lighting-up.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/01/barely-in-time.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/05/inflating-leaf.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/09/e15-leafy-bonanza.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/09/leafy-game.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/09/leafy-birdie.html

variably padded lines

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If you tat only for beautiful lace, this post might not be for you, though it does showcase some lovely effects. My approach to tatting is different and I enjoy all aspects, including delving a bit deeper and finding commonalities or differences. And there was one discovery here that really got me excited!

Another post in my Common Threads series, a consequence of my research, tatting, and editing for 'Six T's of Shuttle Tatting' by Net Best. Sharing my thoughts and observations and short explanation of concepts. 

PADDED DOUBLE STITCH (pds) or padding the stitch (as different from padded tatting) has been around for several decades, with Rhoda Auld's (1974) 'self-padded double stitch' followed by the balanced DS and double DS. You can read the detailed and comparative post, along with a pictorial and notations, here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2015/11/pds-padded-double-stitch.html .

VARIABLE  PADDED  STITCH - In this 2014 post,  https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2014/05/tatting-experimenting-with-stitch.html , I showed a few possibilities of padding only one half-stitch as in spiral tatting; of having more than 2 or 3 wraps; and more importantly of making a variable/uneven number of wraps in the half-stitches. This can be applied to both rings and chains.

TIP: Due to the wraps, it is essential to suspend the shuttle at intervals so that the thread regains its balance. 

LINE is a generic term used by Anne Dyer to refer to the different ways rings and chains can be 'knotted' - basically the different stitches we can use to achieve a certain look and effect. Some may require auxiliary threads and shuttles; some might apply only to one type of element; some may be better expressed through use of contrasting colours; and so on. We can all name multiple techniques starting with regular double stitches to pearl tatting, Victorian sets to lock chains, ....

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LUMPY LINE - another term and effect by Anne Dyer (1993) where she uses a padded stitch after every 3 or 4 double stitches creating a lumpiness to an otherwise smooth line. Here both halves of the padded stitch have three wraps giving it more body or bulk. The lump can become more pronounced if not tensioned too tightly.

Notation for Lumpy Line (the lower model) - 

Ring or Chain: [4, 1pds(3,3)]x4, 4. 

In the top red/orange model, I did not space the pds enough, leaving only 2 DS between.

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The following two effects of variable padded stitch threw up a very exciting observation!!!! It is the reason I took stepwise pics despite the existence of excellent resources, so that you can compare yourself!

SPIRAL  KNOT  STITCH - a term coined by Jennifer Williams (2012) along with a pictorial here - https://www.cariad-tatting.com/techniques . It is a textured effect made with a single padded half-stitch flanked by normal DS. An example of variable PDS.

1. Following a DS, tat a 2nd half-stitch (SHS) but do not snug. Instead pass your shuttle back to front thrice through the open leg as we would normally do for any PDS. 

TIP: There are 3 ways to make the wraps, but once transferred, the result is identical. Follow whichever method you prefer.

2. The 3 wraps are now being snugged ...

3. Notice how the wraps or spirals coil around the Core thread. 

They are, after all, the additional 'legs' of the stitch.

4. Continue with 1DS.

Repeat from steps 1 to 4 for desired length.

5. A ring and a chain with spiral knot stitch or variable padding.

Notation example for Spiral Knot Stitch (no FHS in the PDS) - 

Ring or Chain: 4, [1pds(-,3), 1]x4, 4.

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VAPOUR STTICH - by Ninetta Caruso (2011)    (https://www.flickr.com/photos/ninettacaruso/5660263485/in/album-72157625550124777) more popularly known as the Vapor Picot. This can also be considered a variable PDS, but with a notable difference in the initial step itself. 

1. Make the first half-stitch (FHS) but do not snug. Pass the shuttle from front to back through the loop but BEHIND the open leg. The crochet hook shows how the shuttle would need to move.

2. Here the shuttle is following the path outlined above.

3. Repeat the step twice more, thus making three wraps behind the leg (they are now around the leg). The thread tends to twist.

4. Now transfer the wraps to the ball thread and gradually allow the wraps/spirals to move down snugly. Notice how the wraps are stacked one above the other vertically - the complete opposite of spiral knot stitch. (Compare pic #3 of spiral knot stitch with pic #4 of vapour stitch)  

5. Tat second half-stitch to complete the vapour stitch.

6. Vapour stitches on ring and chain. In the ring, they are contiguous. In the chain, 1 DS separates 1st and last vapour stitch from the 3-stitch cluster in the center.

Notation example for Vapour Stitch (wrapping behind leg of FHS) - 

Ring : 7pds(3,0).

Chain : 8, 1pds(3,0), 1, 3pds(3,0), 1, 1pds(3,0), 8.

 

Both effects together. I have limited my samples to the very basics. It is interesting to play with the number of wraps especially as shown by Ninetta. When you increase the number of wraps, we get a curved coil. 

When I told Ninetta of my discovery, she remembered that Karen Cabrera had also made the same observation, having consecutively shot videos for both stitches! Watch her demos in Lessons 131 and 132 (http://entrelanzaderas.blogspot.com/2010/10/clases-de-frivolite-tatting-lessons.html)

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Now this next effect is not strictly a padded double stitch but I found it so interesting when I had tatted my first sample as Anita and I worked through the book (or started to but never finished!) last year. (https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/06/bigger-flower.html).

KNOBBLY  LINE - Anne Dyer (1993). The way this is worked is completely new to me, but very easy. I do hope to use the effect in some project. Applicable to both rings and chains.

We work 2 DS, but leave a very small picot space between them without snugging. Start the 3rd DS but move the ball thread loop over the open space before tensioning the half-stitch. Follow this by a normal SHS. This is seen in the right sample above. She says to make 'sure the twist is on the top and not at the back'. I found this a wee bit fiddly this time and had to manually coax the thread into the desired twist.

The sample on the left is made similarly, but I let the loop slide and sit 'naturally' following its normal grain or twist. Thus the 'bar' faced back. The difference in look is evident and I kind of prefer my variation, LOL. 

The same samples as seen from the back are also interesting.

So, while this knobbly line does not strictly conform to PDS or variable PDS, there is a tiny bit of 'padding' since a half-stitch is tightened over previous work. And I like the effect!

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If you have managed to read this far, I commend your patience and passion! And I'd like to stress that this is not a comprehensive listing of variable padded stitch effects. It is probably the tip of the proverbial ice berg. Why not create your own?

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Many thanks to all mentioned above - they enrich our world of tatted lace!