Cluny Tatting : Shapes & Effects

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“…where no man has gone before”

Okay, I may be exaggerating here, true to ‘form’ ;-P  But I have yet to come across tallies other than oval/spindle & long tallies. Safe to say that few tatters have gone this route.

Generally one comes across tallies that have 3 raised & 2 indented lengths (2 veins), made on a 3-Warp loom. It is also Oval or spindle-shaped. However, this is merely the beginning & the loom is our means “…to explore new worlds…”. Let the Shuttleship cruise over the Strings at Warp speed “…to seek out new…” shapes , forms, & effects … “…to boldly go where no man has gone before!”

 As you are well aware, my execution is never up to the mark. But I do hope the ideas shared here can be a launching pad for your countdown to new horizons .

Playing with Shapes, Forms, & Effects

in Cluny Tatting

The tally is no longer a statistical mark, it is now a ‘Cluny’ing glory !

Multiple (4/5/or more) Warp tallies are better suited for the angular effects, as well as to create many other shapes & effects. They offer more scope to play around with shapes. For Warp 4 & Warp 5 tallies, please refer my previous post &/or download the tutorials.

REGULAR  GEOMETRIC  SHAPES

(Polygons)

I started a tally-only bracelet with the sole intention of playing with different shapes & forms. And since I wanted to try out geometric shapes, I named it the GeomeTATic bracelet/rakhi. As I made them, I became a bit better at managing the shape by using little tricks, etc.

I. Flat  Base/Tip Tallies  

Eg. rectangle, square, triangle, hourglass, bowtie, hexagon, ‘inverted’ triangle, right angled triangles, .. 

The base & tip of a tally can be made flat with relative ease.

1. For flat base, keep the end Warps separated during the 1^st few weaves. Pack down & the shape will stay. Similarly, for a wide ‘tip’, keep the end Warps at a distance when finishing off the weaving. The distance between the end Warps will depend on the width one desires.

2. Most importantly, when closing – keep the tally in a firm pinch/‘clench’ & DO NOT over-pull the closing loops. Tally edges have a natural tendency to curve when closing. Pulling too tight will change a rectangle or square into a barrel. Hence pull just enough to close all loops yet keep the ends flat & corners neat & angular.

II. Angular Tallies 

Eg. pentagon, hexagon, octagon, kite, diamond, Christmas tree,

  

Geometric shapes include angles ‘along the sides’. Some, such as a diamond, kite, or even a triangle are fairly easy to make by adjusting the Warp distance during weaving.

It is the pentagon, hexagon, octagon that I found troublesome; the angles tend to curve.

Problem solved by use of Slip Knots in smaller sized thread. I used size 40 white thread slip knots.

To make it easier, after the frame is ready (Warps are laid), make the slip knots & attach them to the required Warps, usually the extreme ones. When the need arises for an angle, simply bring the slip knot down to that point & continue weaving. After tally is finished , hold the knot threads on either side & give a tug outwards in order to pull out the angle slightly. Then cut off the knots.

I was successful in getting a good angular pentagon & hexagon, but failed with octagon, although another attempt/practice might have proved successful.

NOTE : Penta- & hexagons require 1 slip knot at each of the end Warps; Octagon requires 2 at each end Warp.

3D TALLIES

III. 3D tally with bead  .

As used in Star Anise Studs here .

This is a fairly easy, very basic application of both bead & Cluny tatting.  Load beads on any shuttle. Make a tally. Bring bead forward before starting the next tally. When 2^nd tally is closed, Lock Join at base of 1^st tally to get a 3D effect.

IV. Tally with Tatted Beads

This is still in a very nascent stage – just an idea I played with. It could perhaps work for a cactus, or tiny buds on a grass lawn !

Inspired by Ninetta’s tiny tatted beads. I didn’t quite get the effect I had visualized, but then I was using size 20 thread. However, sharing the potential & possibilities …

Collage.

 

Tat the beads on Weaver thread, spaced out, before weaving the tally (I made them after I’d already started the tally!). Each ‘bead’ is a ring of 3ds. Try Josephine knots for a better effect. Continue normal weaving & close as usual

V. Curled Cluny Leaves  Warp 3. 

Remember Ninetta’s Curled Rings ? If rings can be curled, why not tallies ? Here’s the process & result …

     

 

VI. Curled Cluny Leaf with Bead within    

A) Hold bead on long loop of Weaver shuttle in center of tally (notice half tally has been woven already);

B) hold with paper clip (safety pin used in pic) ;

C) when closing, position the bead, pass SH1 through loop over bead And through the base loop & pull close as for curled tally.

FREEFORM  SHAPES  &  EFFECTS

VII. Freestyle Leaf 

In a normal Warp 3 loom, by merely adjusting the space between end Warps, one can create an uneven edge. A classic spindle/oval tally is made with an inverted triangle for base, a square or rectangle for centre/body, topped by another triangle. Play with the weave counts or the Warp distance, add more weaves to taper the tip, & one can get a more natural leaf-like form. The ‘3D’ tallies in the Star Anise studs above, are also made in similar fashion, hence no 2 tallies are identical.

The collage includes images from my 2-in-1 Wiosna Doily & Frauberger Bookmark tail (in size 40) . The central purple one is 3-veined (made on a Warp 4 loom).

All these images are from my very first attempts at Cluny tatting & need a lot of refining.

The same technique can be used to make a matka (earthenware pot) or a fish !!! (matka in lead photocollage. If the base is tapered, it can become a Fish !)

VIII. Split-end / Uneven tip Petal  

(Same technique repeated for Arrow …)

I wanted a split-end petal for a particular flower I had in mind to tat later. Would it be possible with a multi-Warp tally ?

A while back, Teri Dusenbury had advised me to “make copious notes”. I try. I start off with gusto, then get so involved in the tatting (or circumstantial interferences) that I forget to jot down the latter portions, relying on my Excellent memory ! Yeah, it Always fails me ;-P Happened yet again. I had very quick  sketchy thoughts mingled with notes of the trials, hence had to rework in order to confirm before posting.

The images show all my efforts on this front. Please refer here for Warp 5 loom & weaving (download free tutorial pdf)

Trial A. Warp 5 loom. Stop 1^st  pass (right to left direction) at Warp 3 & continue weaving between Warps 5, 4, & 3. Close as usual.

Failed – the long tip on right curled inwards.

Trial B. Not quite sure what I did here, except perhaps to close the tally less tightly than before.  

Failed – I did get a stepped effect (another experiment ?!) but not a good ‘split’.

Trial C. Make a reverse stitch on the middle Warp where the split begins.

Failed – Still did not address the length of Warp threads across. Au contraire, made them more prominent.

Trial D. Finally wondered whether ‘splitting the closing’ of loops would be possible. So, at the split point, I pulled down loop 1 (at ‘C’) to close ‘AB’. Left it at that & continued weaving on the remaining 3 Warps (3, 4, 5). It worked !

Trial E. Confirmation of Trial D because I hadn’t jotted this final trial down.  Shown from front as well as back – no thread spaces visible & a clear uneven/split tip seen !!!

IX. “Rolling Lattice Leaf” 

Combining Cluny tatting with Roll tatting can give a lattice effect !

 

A Warp 5 frame was used since I was working with size 20 thread & needed space for the lattice to show. Between each roll tatted segment, I made 3 passes with weaver thread to bring shuttle to opposite side. (2 passes make 1 weave. Refer table here) 

TIP :  After each rolling segment, suspend the weaver shuttle to untwist.

(Another idea to try : Make only 2 passes/1 weave between roll tatting segments, thus bringing weaver shuttle back to same side each time. It should create an open fan or peacock feather shape! But closing this uneven tally would probably pose a problem)

 In latest trial, on a Warp 5 loom, Only 1 pass was made after each roll tatting segment, bringing the SH1/weaver shuttle to opposite end. I got a 3D open lattice leaf when closed!

X. Rolling Cluny Braid/Vine  

But is roll tatting possible on the central Warp(s) too? 

This time, on a Warp 3 frame, after every 3 passes, roll tatting was done consecutively on each Warp. I was trying for a 3D braid/vine effect .

XI. Hanging & Split Tallies on Warp 4. 

Bead within a Heart - 3D effect

When I tried my very 1^st Warp 4 tally, the threads came out at opposite ends ! (see inset) I thought it was a mistake, but as later research showed, it was actually a Split Cluny, but 3-veined !

Along the lines of the normal Warp 3 frame, one can figure out how to make Split & Hanging Cluny leafs in multi-Warp looms, too.

In image, I have used a Warp 4 Hanging tally on left side, placed a bead in the SH1 shuttle thread in center & made another Warp 4 tally on the right side, thus encapsulating the pearl between the 2 leaves. (HCL was required to bring both threads to base; normal tally brought the threads back up; auxiliary weaving thread for HCL was hidden within the right tally). And both tallies are shaped like a Snake Charmer’s flute : long narrow ends & broad circular centre.

TIP : When making narrow ends, as in the flute (been/pungi) above, keep them short. Otherwise closing the tally, especially if made on a 4 or 5 Warp loom, becomes quite difficult.

XII. Padded  Tally 

This was just a thought – using multiple threads for each Warp of the loom – would it affect the look, thickness of the tally? It didn’t alter the look by much.

But it has potential in another application : 3-SHUTTLE TATTING & encapsulation !

If working with 3 colours/shuttles, one can hide the nonworking thread within the tally just as one did for hiding the tail within tally here) but All 3 threads will emerge at the same/desired point, And keep the veins balanced ! 

Thumb Rule : When using the same thread, the number of ds in a ring = number of weaves in a tally , to achieve same size.

Therefore a 16ds ring (8-8, or 4-4-4-4, …) can be substituted with a 16 weave tally leaf !

FACTORS that may affect shape, form, appearance

·         distance between Warps (slim/narrow or broad)

·         number of weaves/wraps (short or long)

·         tautness of weaves/wraps (loose or tight) – can affect appearance, width, & shape, as well as closing the loom.

·         density of weaves/wraps (closely or loosely packed down) – can affect appearance, especially margins when loom is closed.

·         number of Warps (width)

·         thickness/size of thread for loom in HCT (width or central vein, if thicker thread used)

·         moving the outer Warp threads while weaving can alter the shape, width, etc. giving unconventional, freeform leaves.

·         Position of tally on artificial loom : low down (pointy tips & slimmer tally) / midways (ideal for classic tally shape) / high up (broad base & body)

·         I discovered that thread plays a really important role here. A smooth sliding thread makes it easier to close tallies, especially with multiple Warps.

My experimentation , though incomplete, halts here for the present. I still have to try out 2-coloured tallies.    

Dagmar Pezzuto has some intriguing patterns & techniques that I will try out at some future time.

I thank you, my readers, for your patience in reading through (if you have ;-P) … hope you found the ideas interesting ….

A few more resources :

Patty Dowden’s Tips on Shaping Cluny Leaves 

Cinzia Gabrielli's  Coloured Hanging Clunies  … diagrams & instructions

Dagmar Pezzuto's Cluny Petal Tatting in Two Colours.  

Pattern using 2-coloured Cluny tatting … downloaded. Uses 3 shuttles – 2 with same colour, one with different colour.

Cluny Tatting links, etc

UPDATE: 

Check out my new series of Colour Cluny Tatting pictorials, with lots of free and practice patterns - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/p/my-tut.html

Related Posts : Cluny Tatting Tips

Hanging & Split Cluny Tatting 

About multi-Warp Looms

Warp 4 Cluny Tatting tutorial

Warp 5 Cluny Tatting tutorial

Free patterns : Braids ; Studs