multi-tatting

squared and then some...

I’m getting pretty sick of pink, aren’t you? No option here....

Facebook-ers are already aware. I came across it on Craftree. Tat a Brussels’ monument in pink . Cathy de Greef (Canarithy) is calling for a tatted square in pink to turn the global spotlight towards tatting as well women’s rights. She already has a pattern here. However as long as the finished square is 1.18x1.18” in size 20/30 one can use any pattern.

With Anchor 20 this works out to 1.25”.

I started with a ring and went down instead of around. This is a medallion with a central/shared picot on first chain ! Switching shuttles accomplished the entire piece. The picots linking adjacent chains could've been slightly longer.

She will sew all squares together and adorn a monument with the fabric. The FAQ has all details. I’m not mailing it, just showing my support here. Many tatting groups around the world are already on the task - come join in.

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Friendly Anita Barry sent me a delightful presentation titled Taboo Tatting. Print the document on both sides of a page and fold to get 8 little pages of tips, patterns, and ‘puzzles’! It is very handy for travel-tatting. I love how inventive she is!   

eg. she chose a vintage square pattern. You know the 8 alternately small and large outward rings? And all those ways to avoid a twisted picot when joining last ring to first? Here, gasp, she deliberately chose to twist the picot when linking to previous ring.

And I thought I was so smart, thinking ‘why not increase the length of the picot slightly so that the twist is more visible?’ Dummy!! It simply increased the distance between rings!!! Unlike a regular long picot which can be squished and pulled into an elegant double picot, the twisted one will tend to stay straight and in place. I couldn’t accommodate all 8 rings without ruffling. Lesson learned – the square becomes a diamond.

Instead of regular decorative picots, I used my twisted floating picots.

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Still had 2 lengths of pink thread left over and some time. Beaded the ball thread and wound both scraps on a shuttle. The only ‘decorative’ button I could find in my stash only had 2 holes. But I finally tried out Fox’s enticing button tatting!  Oh it was so quick and enjoyable and instead of 12, only 10 repeats sufficed. 

Here I was smart ;-P I worked 5 rings in one hole then continued to next hole. It was easy to see that 5 more rings would take me around. Otherwise I could add one to the first side later.

I can see why this can be addictive, except I don’t really know where I’d use them all. She's been adding a tail to use as a bookmark. I can see this as a bookmark charm or pendant/jewellery.

The button is 2cms and with tatting it comes to 5cms across. An enclosed space medallion where the central space is covered with a button.

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Here I travel back in time. Without changing the stitch count, I worked my one-pass quatrefoil square medallion in the traditional way – tatting individual quatrefoils and joining as you go. One can play with colours in a different way here.

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Last but not least, I test tatted Guoda’s lovely first snowflake pattern. Her way of notating conflicts with what I am used to or familiar with. But then there are so many ways to skin a cat! Once I changed the diagram to my comfort, it worked smoothly.

I enjoyed working the LTROR (loop tatted ring on ring), and didn’t mind when the thread broke while closing the ring on 4^th repeat. Not many patterns use the LTROR, preferring to substitute it with a SCMR. 

In size 40, it measures 8cms across. I can do a better job if I tat it again.

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hmmm, one square meal or tatting a square ?

Which would you choose ;-D