Spiral Snowflake Pattern

Spiral Snowflake / Medallion 

click here for free pattern download

This snowflake is my serious foray into 2D designing. I am more comfortable with freeform & 3D designing and my challenge is to try & create flat pieces with repeating motifs/rounds. Starting small with this 2-round medallion. Can it go further to create a mosaic or a multi-round doily ? Time will tell.

The Design Process 

The pattern came to me one night when I was on the brink of sleep (as often happens!). In the dark, a tablet is a handy device to jot down ideas immediately, without waking/distrubing others. But Kaleidoscope app is a bit limiting, since I cannot jot down notes alongside.

Installed the Sketch Guru app & this is the first sketch I drew on it, along with my thoughts. A no-frills skeleton.

Next step was to determine where each element will be joined, which led to inclusion of picots at those points (#2 in pic below). And a possible option to use folded rings instead of chains.

Sketch & skeleton is fine, but what about the stitchcount ?!     

From position of picots, I guesstimated the stitches for central round. My thumb rule was to use a certain number & its multiples to keep things simple & easy to remember. I think this idea came from all the tatting one has done & from reading Sharon Briggs’ design tutorials. Sharon’s tutorials provide a very practical & visual understanding of design in tatting. 

And it worked the very first time round !!! So much so that in Round 2, on the 3^rd repeat itself, I felt comfortable & confident of it's flatness and embellished it with Josephine Knots.

The only change I made in final version was to reduce 1ds from the chains in Round 1.
Lucked out or more appropriately collective wisdom at work again :-)

Since this had started out as a free pattern for beginner to intermediate level, the pdf contains detailed notes, including links for tutorials, & pattern instructions that will hopefully be of aid. There is also a table for the thread lengths required in each version, size 20 thread. For this post, I am uploading only the diagrammed pattern & the pictorial. And of course some more pictures !

The Pattern 

  

 

Download the complete pattern here

If any help is required, you know where to reach me :-)

The Models

1. Basic Pattern
In the prototype, rings & chains in Rnd 1 were in different colours. (see #4 prototype in above pic)

2. Beaded Version

This is what I originally made.... 

...then added a central bead (below). Now it looks good to be converted into a jewellery piece

3. One Pass Version in single colour

To tat the medallion in one pass, start with a blind chain (or dead end start to chain) in Round 1. 

To climb out from round 1 to 2, make the last ring a split ring. For all the rest, follow pattern instructions.

4. Layered Flower/Medallion Idea
Playing with the models for a layered effect....

I hope to carry this off-center theme in future designs as well – that is my overarching Design Concept for this year, for Susan Fuller’s Tatting Design Class. Whatever I design, I hope to have some off-center element(s). Here it is the outer chain joins & Josephine Knot that gives a spinning, spiraling effect. But it could well be a ring, or …. I have a few ideas sketched/jotted down … can I tat them is the question ;-D

Motif #23 of III for 25 Motif Challenge

happy tatting :-)