This ‘hack’ hit me earlier in the month, while diagramming some vintage
edgings. I was thrilled & eager to share, TILL I began writing this post
& went over to Robin’s blog for her tutorial link. She’s already covered it
meticulously in her last 2 tutorials – I’d totally forgotten (yeah yeah my
encroaching greyness …quit teasing me already!)
But I’m still so excited about this shortcut because it
led to instant designing – literally within minutes! Relatively simple and skeletal designs
thus far, but such fun playing around ! Want to see how? Read on …
How can any of my Inkscape post Not have a reference to
Robin?! She has shared free diagramming templates to get us started. Earlier, I would pick a specific ring or ring
combo and arrange as required by flipping, rotating, resizing, etc. For
clovers in a snowflake, I’d choose the 3 rings and adjust. This not only required
additional steps, but some possible heartburn when they decided to change shape
on rotation ;-/
(Of course, post-event I know that her Drawing ‘Automatic’ Pattern Repeats tuts eliminate all that heartburn & I’ll be internalizing it
for future).
So, anyway, with just a few hotkeys and her Rosette
template (6 outward facing rings), I created Instant Trefoil & Quatrefoil Patterns ! And
went about tatting the latter, too.
This is just the tip of the creative berg - choose and move around templates & motifs !
click on images to
enlarge
See how easy it is to ungroup and rearrange individual motifs. One does not need an advanced knowledge of diagramming or Inkscape here.
Although clicking on images will enlarge them, here it is in pdf for easy reading and reference.
The top left on p3 is a hexagon from trefoils.
This skeleton is converted into a working tatting pattern diagram - a simple 2-round snowflake - with the inclusion of chains and picots.
In the alternate method shown below with quatrefoils, more steps have been eliminated by working with a set of 3 motifs & flipping it!
I draw my own guide lines using the grid and a bezier. Actually this was to be the 2nd hack I intended to share, because many of us still find using the guide lines and snap commands confusing. But for those who can, use the actual guide lines.
Errr, tatting wasn’t as instant as designing – the first ‘hexagon’ turned into a square (the one with tails)! Just a slight stichcount tweak, and I got a square, pentagon And hexagon all from One skeleton diagram (on the left) !!! The picots & joins were shifted in the pentagon & hexagon on the right. It creates a visibly different look, but the hexagon refuses to lay flat.
Incidentally, all rings throughout have 24ds.
And there's another possible pattern on p4 with quatrefoils and thrown rings, but the quatrefoils are 'inverted' ! I think it can be accomplished in one pass using SCMR with thrown inner rings and split rings along the outer circle.
Now the Quatrefoil Square & Hexagon seem to be pretty basic, although my
searches did not throw up such a medallion. And even the stitchcount – I came
up by myself.
If you have come across an exact replica, please do tell.
I will share this pattern & it's myriad design possibilities next time. These different shapes
seem to have a nice fit to create a larger fabric. Hmmm, a magic
square, too, perhaps :-D No harm aspiring, is there - & I might just have got the sequence!
But first I need to design a triangle to fit within. All help is welcome :-)
In the meantime I'm halfway through a bookmark & next a coaster tatting it in one pass.
Related Posts
tatting or drawing – the name of the game is fun !
enjoy :-)
Wow, oh wow!! You have been busy!!! And everything looks wonderful!!! :)
ReplyDeleteDesigning scrambles my mind, but I have gotten a little designing done. ;)
Sue, I Love what you design – your dreamcatchers are a dream in beaded lace! Thank you :-)))
DeleteGreat way to visualize patterns, which is half the battle when coming up with new designs! By the way, my latest magic square came from a miscalculated snowflake. I ended up with a small square instead of a six sided figure. So yes, definitely save your square and you might be able to make something bigger out of it.
ReplyDeleteHere's a small Inkscape tip that I came across during one of the online chats: Watch the first 45 seconds of the following video to see how to turn the background to white, which helps when displaying images on blogs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD-mcROegaY
I love design back stories, Robin ! And what a beautiful artwork resulted from that messed up snowflake :-)
DeleteI’ve just been watching the link you provided, simultaneously trying to incorporate her changes. The white b/g change works (now I understand why png images would turn black at times giving Georgia a hard time ;-P)!
But her grid change to a graph-like simulation didn’t work for me. I get only the major grid lines (but thankfully I now know how to resize them!) – would be nice to get the graph she gets.
Thanks again – without your tuts & tips, this would never have come around!
Oh I love what you have come up with so good, thank you for the PFd :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it, Carollyn :-) Enjoy your weekend !
DeleteMy head is spinning! I know all the terminology. I have the program. I understand everything you and Robin say, but somehow I can't put it all together. I'm leaving the designing to others! ;-)
ReplyDeleteDiane, "leaving the designing to others" is the Best Hack ever :-D
DeleteI enjoy playing around - the more I use the program, the more features & tricks emerge.
Oh My!!! What an effort Muskaan. Lot to learn here. I just tat without designs.This way it may be more scientific. Isn't it? Thanks for PDF.
ReplyDeleteDunno about scientific, Usha, but this is merely One of the Many paths to designing or creating. I, myself, have taken different routes to creating my tatting designs & can't recommend one over the other :-)
DeleteWhat fun! I never did put in the time to learn inkscape.
ReplyDeleteWithout Robin, I wouldn't have learned it either, Jane :-) But so glad I did!
DeleteGreat work and explanation, I also use Inkscape for my designs ;-)
ReplyDeleteand your diagramming is superb & systematic, Daniela ! Glad you liked this :-)
DeleteBy the power vested in me by absolutely no one, I grant you a PhD of tatting design.
ReplyDeleteI am SO wowed.
Hahahaha ... so Finally I get to complete my PhD, thanks to you, Linda :-D But seriously, none of this would've been possible without the Master Class Tutorials by Robin. Hugs
DeleteFantastic job, muskaan! I love that you've included the tools you used. I've saved the pdf for later play. (Apple users might like to try EazyDraw. It is very similar.)
ReplyDeleteEliz, thanks for the EazyDraw tip! So glad this can have wider application than merely Inkscape :-)
DeleteYes, I like the list of hotkeys, too. Now that's a 'journey' in itself - I'll explain some time.
The 4-page presentation took me way way longer than the actual design hack ;-P
Thank you for this post:) It's very interesting.
ReplyDelete(((Anetta)))
Delete