Tatting Patterns I : 4 Vintage Edgings

Your sewing project looks too plain?

Looking for some Vintage Edging Patterns ?

Leaning towards Tatting ?

An Edging can uplift And highlight any project from the mundane/uninteresting to a decorative, customized piece of work. Use tatting edgings & insertions to adorn throw & pillow cases, lingerie, garments, sleeves, collars, necklines, towels, kitchen linen, table linen, handkerchiefs, .... or create beautiful jewelry in the form of bracelets, chokers, necklaces, belts, etc.
I have a collection of Vintage Tatting patterns, collected from friends & magazines, over the decades. Unfortunately, I did not jot down the Original source. I will unhesitatingly give due credit if/when the actual source(s) to any of these patterns is found.

Some months back, I uploaded & shared some of the patterns & samples on Pinterest. All are on my board My Projects 4 : Tatting , & many are floating around {they keep re-surfacing from time to time, especially Shamrocks in a Row & Dancing Clovers ;-) }

I share, here, Four Vintage Tatting Edging Patterns.

But it is so boring & generic to simply call each one a 'vintage/tatting edging'. Moreover, how does one remember exactly which edging is being discussed or referred to? Hence, I decided to give them individual names based on my visualization of the end result.

1 . Waves

This is a pattern I took down from a friend’s tatting book back in the 80’s. Ever since I made a single-color sampler some months back, I have seen many beautiful variations / versions / applications of this pattern, especially in bracelets. These usually use a single color with or without beads. Some repeat the pattern as a 2nd row, joining the picots either chain-to-chain or ring-to-ring. In my notebook, this is the 1^st of a 3-row sari lace edging / border pattern, which I will share eventually.

I have tacked on this narrow edging along one of my throw cases, as in pic.

Waves Vintage Edging with Tatting pattern, inked

TIP : Change the effect of this simple pattern by using only one color, using variegated color, adding another row where the 2 rings become 4 rings, adding &/or increasing the number of picots, etc.

Width : 1/2' (1 cm)
Length : 3 complete repeats (or 6 waves/chains) = 3'

(B-19. Row 1)

2 . Dancing Clovers

Another Vintage edging pattern sampler from my 'unknown' collection. Each clover repeat looks like they are holding hands & dancing , hence the name :-)

This is a Single Shuttle, one-pass pattern, with yarn lengths (instead of chains) to space out the rings. The trick, however, is to keep the lengths even & regular so that the edging lies flat.
Notice the use of Long & Short/Normal Picots? The largest ring has 10 Long/Large Picots separated by 2 ds each, creating a nice effect.

Dancing Clovers Edging Sampler, with inked tatting pattern

TIP : One can improvise this pattern by tying ball & shuttle threads together & tatting Chains instead of yarn lengths between the rings. However, chains will add bulk to an otherwise delicate, lacy pattern.

Width : slightly more than 1' (~ 2-1/2 cm).
Length : 2 repeats ~ 2'
(B-2)

3 . Shamrocks in a Row

This vintage edging also uses small & large picots. It is a 2-row pattern, using both ball & shuttle threads. Row 1 comprises 3 rings that form a shamrock, & a long chain. Row 2 comprises only chains that are joined to base of each shamrock. This pattern makes very good use of small (smp) & long (Lp) picots in Row 2.

ROW 1 : R 6-5-1, R 1-5-5-1, R 1-5-6. (These 3 rings form 1 Shamrock). Rw.
               Chain 16.
               Repeat to desired length, joining adjacent shamrock picots as in sampler.
               Tie & cut OR Turn & continue.
ROW 2 : Chain 2, smp, 4, 7 Lp sep by 2 ds, 4, smp, 2.
                Join to base of the 3-ring shamrock, Repeat to end.

TIP : To keep work neat & flat, leave a slight space at the base of the shamrock where Row 2 chains can be worked. 

Shamrocks in a Row Edging with tatting pattern

The arrow at end of sampler indicates where I Turned my work to start Row 2, instead of tying & cutting off the threads & rejoining again. It was possible because this is just a sampler.
When making the actual edging, it can be done by simply continuing along Without turning, Once the required length is achieved. OR. One can leave a tiny-tiny bit of yarn while turning (this is the space where Finally, the Last chain will be worked & tied off) & work Row 2 chains back along Row 1.
I hope this is clear? If not, I'd love to answer any doubts/queries... 

TIP : This edging can be worked with Only one row, too! Add a few picots to the 16 chain & it's done! However, the 2nd row does add a sturdiness & some body to the edging.

Width : ~  3/4 ' (2 cms)
Length : 4 repeats = 3'
(B-4)

4 . Crowns

This is an edging pattern I found via Pinterest, & modified to suit my purpose. Instead of a double round, I chose to do a single pass (the lower navy blue image in link). And, I modified the center ring into a Smaller half-circle so that each pattern repeat looks more like a flower slit in half. I actually wanted it to be an exact semicircle, with a flat base. But this looks good too, doesn’t it?

This is the altered Ring pattern : (-3-3-3-9 ). Starts with a picot ! ( I am lining up a step-by-step tutorial on how to start with a picot.)
I used this edging in a square throw / cushion case. And here are Two examples of  how this edging can be cornered : Cornering an Edging : Tatting

Crowns Edging with tatting pattern

Width : 3/4' (`2 cms)
Length : 1 repeat = 1'

UPDATE : This pattern is Originally called Anniversary from "Tatting with Visual Patterns by Mary Konior .

Yarns Used in the 4 edgings above, along with the Color Shades :

I Love Coats Anchor Mercer Crochet. The colors are fast & durable. They retain their sheen for years & years, despite frequent washing. I did use Red Heart for black color, but one of the balls had knots/breaks in the yarn !!! Never again.

I've used size 20 yarn throughout. I find it easier to work with - easier on my eyes - and the work progresses faster.

Coats Anchor Thread along with highlighted Shade numbers

TIP : Always buy a minimum of  TWO balls of the Same color when starting any tatting project. Why? Because, one ball can be used to load the shuttle while the other ball yarn can be used to attach to shuttle thread when working a ball-and-shuttle or 2-shuttle pattern. Now you won't have to break off the ball (or 2nd shuttle) thread Every time a shuttle reload is required ! I prefer this method to loading more than 1 shuttle, especially for smaller projects. Minimum breakage of yarn, minimum 'joins', hiding the 'knots', etc.

Happy Tatting, 

and

ta-ta for now...