journey of a single shuttle

single shuttle medallion prototypes with pattern and dot picots on a ring !

How far can a single shuttle take you ?! Come journey with me ....

update June 6: star pattern edited

single  shuttle  medallions

Usha told me about a challenge her whatsapp group, Happy Tatters, is doing – tatting a single shuttle medallion or motif daily for a week. While I am not on any SM, InTatters members will certainly remember the gorgeous doilies tatted by Madhur, who is also a member.
What better way to get one’s creative juices flowing ?!

I let my shuttle loose. A couple of mangled attempts were thrown away (I keep forgetting to include picots). The ones that have survived so far are these … still in the process of completion. But if I waited to show till each was complete, it’d take forever.

I find myself using different techniques to overcome the ‘handicap’ of a single shuttle. To my pleasant surprise, there is hardly anything one cannot do with a single shuttle !!!!

I am really enjoying this challenge and drawing on all the techniques I’ve learned so far to tackle each piece differently.

1. Star of Halves

A 2-round one pass single shuttle medallion in size 20 thread

Techniques : half or half-closed rings (HR), lock join (LJ), onion ring join (ORJ), very small picot (vsp)

Round 1 : comprises of twin rings separated by tiny half rings.

*** R1 : 5 vsp 3 p 5. DNRW

R2 : 5 + 3 vsp 5. RW

HR : 3. RW ***

Repeat 5 times total, ending with a join to base of first ring. Do not cut thread.

Round 2 : This round is made up entirely of large half rings, joined to previous round using onion ring join for a slight texture.

Make a LJ through bare thread of last HR in Round 1.

*** HR : 6 ORJ (vsp of R1) 8 p 8 ORJ (vsp of R2) 6. LJ through next HR ***

Repeat 6 times total, joining back to start. T & C. Hide end or use as dangler.

One can use Anne Dyer’s Join to smooth side (JSS) instead of onion ring join, but I wanted a subtle dip. Pull loop of the other thread through picot, pass shuttle through, tension; make 2^nd half stitch.    

2. Rambling

I wanted more rings in the center, but that wasn’t going to work. Hence left it as a diamond, to ramble along the next round.

Made in one pass with 4-ring rosette in center, and half-closed folded rings (setb then seta) and Josephine rings , lock joined (twice – on either side of JR) to the picots in Rnd 1 rings.

It does seem to have a diamond in center and an elongated hexagon along outer edge.

This one will probably be discarded; still, grist for the design mill.

3. Tiny Wildflower

This was actually just the first round. But I kinda like the look of it as a tiny flower.

Techniques : picot join to the right, Josephine Knot (JK) on twisted picot (TwP) 

Note : for picot join to the right, one can use a folded join, rosette join (twisted picot join) or avoid a folded join, since these are outward facing rings.

Ring 1 : 1 vsp 7 p 7 vsp 1

***Leave about ½” bare thread. Tat 1 JK (7hs). Twist bare threads to make a picot with JK at tip.

Rings 2 : 1 + 7 p 7 vsp 1 ***

Repeat till end, joining last ring to the first using a picot join to the right, and another twisted picot with JK.

Tie & Cut, hide end.

Exciting news : Usha (link to her channel) has graciously demo-ed 2 videos on the twisted picots Twisted Picot (with and without bead) and Twisted Picot with knotted bead In the latter, one can substitute a Josephine Knot for the bead. Thanks so much ((( hugs )))

Dot Picots on a Ring !

This started out as a medallion too, but I got into experimentation mode.

I started with SCMR using a length of tail (smallest ring). easy to make dot picots here since it is basically a chain.

Middle ring is a true ring with dot picots, but they tend to unravel (middle one is fully unraveled, while the right one is beginning to) .

Large ring was another idea to secure the dot picots – and it worked ! A wee bit fussy initially, but very much doable.

Those bare threads visible on the left of the 3 dot picots was left on purpose – I wanted offset picots. The BTS needs some tweaking to get my visualized effect.

I'll leave you to figure it out for now ...

I started another medallion last night, using other techniques. But no pics yet, and is still unfinished. 

Anybody game for a similar challenge ?

happy tatting always :-))) 

More of my Single Shuttle motifs /medallion patterns : Jewellery Medallion , Ring in the Bouquet , Inchies.
Latest in this challenge series - Have a Heart (June)