and options

Renulek’s  Wiosna  Doily 2015

Rounds 8 & 9 

Last year I was amazed at how the same doily pattern, Renulek’s Spring Doily 2014 (my version here), took on a character of it’s own, changing appearance with the colour choices, placement choices, etc. that each tatter made.

But tatters don’t just have the option of colours, threads, & thread sizes. We can also make choices with regard to which/what technique to apply to each round, to best suit our requirements & our comfort ! Many paths to the same destination :-)

I have just started on Round 9 & would’ve ideally posted only after completion. However, since this is a tat-along, & there seems to be some interest in my earlier tips, I decided to upload my thoughts so that they may be of timely help, if required …. as it is I started late & am lagging behind ;-P

UPDATE (March 10, 2017) : For a simpler working of Round 9 see pictorial here with options for different colour placement,  too.

This is what worked for me for Round 9 of the Wiosna …

I have used single colour for entire round. Hence both shuttles are loaded CTM.

For those using 2 colours, you may switch colours using the SLT wherever necessary. Carollyn has posted some excellent how-to pics for 2-coloured Round 9,here.

Firstly, some pointers :

• Work this round counter/anticlockwise ! While all previous rounds were done/could be done in clockwise direction, this one Has to be tatted in opposite direction.
• It requires Directional Tatting. Hence a knowledge of Reverse Stitch (also called 2nd half of Split ring method, lark’s head knot,  unflipped stitches/hitches, encapsulation, etc.) is required.
• All tatting is done on the Front Side Only. Do Not Reverse Work at all !!! I learned this from tatting Teri’s Dandelion Chain Link Bookmark here.
• If one is not too experienced with this type of tatting, it is best to use single colour, so that any small mistake will not be easily apparent.
• I always find it less complicated to use 2 different types of shuttles since it is easy to keep track of which is Sh#1 & Sh#2. Or else, mark them.
• Lock Joins are made with the shuttle closest to the joining point.

The Process (Directional Tatting)

I will detail only the process. For exact stitch count of Round 9, please refer to the pattern here.

To Begin :

*** With Sh1,

Ring : start with the central ring normally (ds) . Close ring. Switch shuttles.

       With Sh2,

Ch1 : Reverse Stitch.  LJ with Sh1, to ring picot.

Ch2 : Reverse Stitch.  LJ with Sh1, to ring picot.

Ch3 : Reverse Stitch.  LJ with Sh1, to base of ring.

Ch4 : Normal ds , join to picot on round 8, continue ds chain.

Switch Shuttles. *** 

Repeat from *** to *** till end (72 total motifs/repeats)

The first ‘motif’ is complete. For all subsequent repeats, the 1^st side chain will be joined to the adjacent previous side chain in this manner : LJ with Sh2, to chain picot UPDATE : As pointed out by Ninetta in the comments below, instead of a LJ here, one could easily use the Split Ring or Lark's Head Knot Join. That would not only bring about neatness, but keep the core thread in play. Thanks Ninetta :-)

Continue in similar fashion for rest of the round.

To Summarize :

Work Only the Ring with Shuttle #1, and the Lock Joins to ring from the 3 chains going around it.

All the rest will be tatted using Shuttle #2 – the 3 chains around the ring, the chain joining to previous round, and the Lock Join when connecting to chain picot on previous repeat.

I am thoroughly enjoying this round – both for it’s beauty , the colour I’ve chosen , And for the option of using yet another technique learned earlier. The only minor irritant is that one has to unwrap the chain thread from one’s pinkie to make those LJs ;-P

Abbreviations used :

CTM – continuous thread method

SLT – shoe lace trick

Sh – shuttle

ds – double stitch

Ch – chain

LJ – lock join

Just a couple of lines regarding Round 8 :

It is a simple round, which can be done with single shuttle & ball, although I went with 2 shuttles.

I added a tiny picot at base of each chain (after 1st ds & before last ds) , joining adjacent chains for better anchorage & stability, just as I did in the previous round 7,here.

I’m not too happy with the long chains – there is some ruffling – but  am hoping that Round 9 will flatten it out.

And to repeat, there is no Single correct way of tackling round 9. One should choose what one is comfortable with. This can, however, also be a challenge to learn new techniques & applications.

UPDATE :

Well this post Is about  Options!

Optional  Process (Traditional tatting) :

Bernice mentioned in the comments below, that she was also working counterclockwise but was reversing work. This morning, as I continued my directional tatting, it suddenly hit me that this is Essentially the Same ! All I was doing was tatting from the front with no RW, while Bernice was tatting ‘normally’ ie., with normal ds & hence had to use RW.

I had to confirm it of course ;-P Yes, it worked great (the last 2 repeats in the pic). Looking closely, I think, in fact, these turned out better looking than the previous ones !

Note : 

Ring is made on the front side of the doily. Hence when work is reversed, we are on the backside, & you might need to make a Down Join to avoid colour blip if working with 2 colours.

Also, use SLTs when required if working with 2 colours. Carollyn has demonstrated this.

So, when one looks from the front side, one is tatting Counterclockwise, but with normal ds. 
In fact, if using a single colour, then one can even work with 1 shuttle & ball through the entire round, by doing just 1 SLT before each ring.

The ring is like a Thrown Ring - a ring on the long chain! 

Another option -- if working with 2 shuttles & single colour,  every alternate repeat will be made by the next shuttle.  If you started with Sh 1, next repeat will be with Sh2, then 3rd repeat with Sh1 and so on.  No SLT required. 

The Process
Make Ring . RW . (you can see the solitary ring in the pic on top right)

Work Ch1 & join to previous repeat (ch picot) using a Down Join.. LJ to Ring. DNRW.

Ch2 . LJ to Ring. DNRW.

Ch3. LJ to base of Ring . RW .

Long Ch . Join to previous round. ……

Please feel free to share how you are tatting/have tatted this round. Ideas multiply when we share :-)

happy tatting :-) 

Related Posts : Wiosna Rounds 1-5

Wiosna Rounds 6-7