Tatting Pattern : Wreath Ornament

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An original pattern

Looking for small motif for decoration/jewelry?

Dislike blocking & stiffening ?

Tired of the same old double stitch ?

Looking for texture, variation, & 3-dimension?

As mentioned in my previous post , we, at InTattters, are in the midst of learning & experimenting with the padded double stitch. (pds). I had tackled chains in the previous trials. This time I went for rings. My pds ring trials did not start with this particular motif (I made use of pds in concentric rings). That motif, despite the neat rings, lies incomplete – I need more time & thought to continue with the design. However, I was happy to have come up with And complete this small motif all in one evening. Read on for the pattern .

UPDATE :  
This pattern has been tweaked and reworked with beads 
Thorny Wreath Ornament  pdf link

WREATH  ORNAMENT / ACCESSORY

This is a 2-round tiny motif where the 1^st round is made of split rings but the 2^nd round is freeform, interweaving a chain through the circular motif. The freeform weaving lends a 3D form to the flat wreath. It is a beginner’s way to get around the slightly more complex 3D tatting ;-)

It can be used as a tree ornament, a decoration/adornment for gifts, sewn on to a headband, or be used as a pendant, a brooch, or earrings … embellishments can be added as required.

Materials used :

Anchor Mercerized Crochet Cotton Size 20. Series 4054.

Red W/Black – 1206

Lemon Yellow – 0293

Green – 0229

Khaki Brown - 0359

Techniques applied ( 2-Shuttle Tatting ) :

pds – padded double stitch.

Note : The number within brackets after pds denotes the number of wraps to pad each half of the stitch. eg. pds(3) means 3 wraps in each half st of ds; pds(2,3) means 2 wraps in 1^st half st & 3 wraps in 2^nd half st of the ds.

SR – Split Ring

ds – double stitch

Folded Chain

Folded Ring

Josephine Chain

Picots : vsp – very small picot ; sp – small picot ; lp – long picot

Lock Chain (optional)

Size :

Round 1 – 4 cm diameter

Round 2 – 4 ½ cms diameter

So this is just under 2 inches ! And due to padded ds, it is also fairly stiff !

One can choose any color. I chose these in order to convey a semi-realistic feel to an otherwise abstract wreath-like form. And of course, it does lend itself to a festive Christmas look if one wants to use it as a tree ornament or for decorations.

Round 1 :

Shuttle 1 – red

Shuttle 2 – yellow

All rings are started with the red thread/shuttle.

SR1 : (red) 2ds, 6pds(2), sp, 4pds(3) / (yellow) vsp, [1ds, p]x2 , [1pds(2), p]x3, 1ds, p, 1ds. Cl.

Note : (i) sp in red half does not have to be in same position (refer to pic below). I have shifted its position in subsequent rings. The reason is that when I join the vine in 2^nd round, it will join free-form in different places going asymmetrically around.

(ii) vsp in yellow is Only for the 1^st SR. This is the tiny picot where the last SR will join to the 1^st one.

Make 7 more SRs & join back to the 1^st SR to form a circle of 8 SRs.

TIP : If one wants to make a flower, make only 6 rings & join. It creates a beautiful flower motif with a flurry yellow in centre & red petals around.

Round 2 :

Shuttle 1 – green

Shuttle 2 – brown

This round can be started with a chain (as I did) or with a leaf.

Since this is a free-form vine, I did not jot down the specific stitch-count. I just eye-balled it, choosing stitches & elements as I went along. This is the free-form round that makes it truly Unique – no 2 wreaths will be the exact same ! One can add more leaves, reduce them, or eliminate them altogether. One can change the flow & twist of the chain (vine) as desired – wind it more closely around the rings or widen the interweaving. Play around !

                 

Here is the general flow of the pattern …

Vine To make the vine (brown) I used segments of Folded Chain as well as Josephine Chain, each made of variable stitches ranging from ds, pds(2), pds (2,3), pds (3,2) & pds (3) … interspersed with long picots which were later cut & tied to create the thorny effect.

In order to fold the chains periodically, 2 half stitches preceded or succeeded by a vsp was used.

Leaves Leaves are Folded Rings also with variable sts – ds, pds(2), & pds(3) including a few variable pds (1,2), (2,3), (3,2), etc. and 1 small picot at the tip. I started & ended all the leafs with at least 1 ds.

Again, each leaf was folded twice – once on each side.

For folding the ring, on either side of the leaf, 2 half stitches preceded or succeeded by a vsp was used.

As one tats the vine, keep joining it to the small picot on the red edge outside, & to any of the yellow picots on the inside. In order to weave the vine over & under the rings, I had to insert my shuttles through the center of Round 1.

Hence, it is important that the central negative space be large enough for normal-sized shuttles to pass through. However, if one has Irish or narrow shuttles, Round 1 can  be made more compact.

Remember to cut the long picots in the vine, & tie the 2 ends together. I did not wait till the end, however, since the long loops were interfering with tatting. Hence, after every couple of picots, I snipped & tied. You can adjust the length of the cut threads later.

To End :

At end, tie the 2 ends of the chain together or continue with Lock Chain to create a cord to tie or hang the ornament or to attach it to any jewelry.

That’s it. Hope you are inspired to make your own wreaths & would love it if you shared your projects. If any part of the pattern is unclear, please feel free to ask & I will try to explain further. I hope to convert the pattern into a pdf file which I will upload to the Free Patterns page in near future.

Happy Tatting

Motif #1 for 25 Motif Challenge

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