Tuesday 21 August 2018

The picot stands tall

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Many of us ‘eye-ball’ the picot. When precision is needed as in case of graduated, double/triple, interlocking/interwoven, central and tuft picots or in tatted hairpin lace, a gauge is required. Some ink/tattoo dots on their finger! I merely measure and cut some cardstock to use as a homemade gauge. To me, vertical meant looping the picot thread around the gauge, while horizontal meant laying the picot thread flat along the measuring side. 

But Robin pointed out that there are different interpretations (see comments) and it led to a lot of research ending in this article : Measuring the Picot.
I will use 2 images sent by her to illustrate how some tutorials/resources differ in their approach & terminology. One set speaks of how to hold the rectangular gauge, while the other talks about how the picot thread lies (in relation to core thread or the gauge) when measuring. 

 
            In A, the picot gauge is held horizontally, but the picot thread is vertical.
In B, the gauge is held vertically, but picot thread is horizontal.
But notice that the core thread remains the same throughout – horizontal!
Core thread is the only constant during measurement.
It lies flat (horizontal or on the X-axis)
irrespective of the picot thread or the picot gauge.
In A, we measure the height of the picot (5mm in this case) and the finished picot is of the same measure viz 5mm.
In B, we measure the length of the picot (10mm in this case) but when finished, the picot will measure 5mm.
Length of thread in any picot is twice the height of that picot.
Conversely, height of picot is half its length. 
In A, multiple picots can me made before slipping them off the gauge.
In B, only 1 picot at a time is possible.

Thus the seeming dichotomy is resolved. But this is not all. There are ways to use the gauge unconventionally; and ways to measure a picot without using any separate tool (see collage below) !!! These are all covered in the article, along with pictures – some stepwise. 

Part of the article was published in Bellaonline on July 12, 2018. More sections were added later, and refined further, to make it quite a comprehensive document.

Click to download the pdf of the complete article -

This article is a compilation of the many ways – old & new - to measure a picot. Each method has it’s advantages and it is entirely up to the tatter to choose the method(s) they prefer. The article makes no claim of superiority of one method or of one gauge over the other.

The contents of the article :
I.  Orientation of Picot Gauge – horizontal and vertical
II. Orientation of Picot Thread in Relation to the Core Thread – height (vertical) and length (horizontal)
III. Non-conventional  Applications/Uses
A.                  Direct Tatting (unflipped stitches)
B.                  Decorative Effects
C.                  Graduated Picots 
D.                  Multiplier Effect of Gauge 
E.                  BEADS as Picot Gauge
IV. Stitches as Picot Gauge – length and height
Recap / conclusion
References
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During the course of my research, many good friends helped with their own insights, though not everything was included in the final article. This post is to share this new information rather than repeat what’s in the article.

Historically, a pin was used to measure the picot loops. “Tatting. Edgings and Insertions”, Mlle Riego de la Branchardiere, 1861.
‘A Pearl Loop – After the number of double stitches are worked as directed, the thread which forms the loop round the hand is passed over the pin, invented for the purpose, facilitates the work.’
Since a pin has a circular cross-section, there is no vertical/horizontal dilemma here. The number of times one wraps the picot thread around it can alter the size of a finished picot.
This same technique is used by Jon Yusoff on modern gauges for extra long picotsThe collage above shows how to measure a 10cm picot using a 2cm gauge.

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Bonnie Swank (through Anita Barry) sent me her description derived from “The Art of Tatting”, Lady Hoare, 1910, page 20
“Pinching the ring and shuttle threads together then tatting the double stitch and sliding the new double stitch next to the previous double stitch.
This is a horizontal method of making the picot without a gauge.”
Lady Hoare suggests ‘leaving about the eighth of an inch of thread on both loop and shuttle threads….’ This is what we refer to as eyeballing.
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An elementary and universal method is to employ
the stitches themselves as a picot gauge.
If a gauge is not available, the stitches themselves can act as a gauge. Even beads can be used for measurement if size is known. The advantage of using one’s own tatted stitches as a gauge is that it accommodates all types & sizes of threads as well as individual difference in tension.
I used the height of a picot-in-the-making to estimate the size of central picot and arrived at the following thumb rule. Jane McLellan stepped in with trials, experiments and feedback to confirm the rule.
A thumb rule for measuring the central picot
around which rings will be linked :
1ds width for each ring.
(± half stitch to account for individual differences)
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While technically not a picot, it is a different way of using a picot gauge. Jeanie Schekel, in her unpublished book, calls it a folded picot gauge ideal for bare thread tatting and mignonette. She shared her images and also these video links –  Double picot gauge by needledreams and this video by mytattingplace which also shows how to get uniform half-closed rings.
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Coretta Loughmiller sent me many pics of the BTS and Picot Tool being used. Now this stepped tool, at first glance, defies the vertical/horizontal position. However the detailed markings of length and directional arrows helps us understand how to hold and use the gauge to measure either the height or the length of the picot thread and also bare thread. Gloria Nelson, the designer & manufacturer of this compact efficient tool, has been most gracious in our communication, even offering to send in more pics.
Such markings are a good way to avoid any confusion and communicate clearly - whichever gauge a designer uses.
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Martha Ess’ sliding gauge is ideal for graduated picots. She graciously gave me permission to use any of the photos and instructions!
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I’d like to sincerely thank each and everyone mentioned 
for prompt and enthusiastic help – over and above my expectations !  
And I cannot thank Robin & Georgia enough! 
Robin Perfetti has helped proof the multiple drafts carefully and offered valuable feedback/suggestions. Some of the words, thoughts & of course images, are hers. 
Georgia Seitz has provided us with a wonderful platform and opportunity to reach a wide audience through Bellaonline and her Online Tatting Class.

10 comments:

  1. This is a lot of work muskaan, congratulations. It will take me time to absorb it.

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    1. Thanks, Jane :-) Yes, I have slogged for hours on end over this, almost to the last minute ;-P But I'm finally happy with the result.

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  2. Definitely something to print and read at my pace (slow!). Great job. Thank you.

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    1. Read when and as you can, Nin - the picot won't judge you ;-P Thank you

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  3. Wow muskaan, there are a lot techniques here that I hadn’t seen before. Martha’s graduated picot gauge and Jeanie’s gauge to get half closed rings are both interesting and I will definitely keep those in mind if I ever have a relevant future project. Well done on this very comprehensive article!

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    1. Yes, Robin, everybody has found at least one thing they didn't know about before :-D And the folded picot gauge does make BTS/half-closed rings so much nicer to tat!
      Thank you very much for all your help :-)

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  4. A very interesting post, and a lot of information. Well done writing a comprehensive piece about the picot

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    1. ... and also a very effective way of scaring away tatters and comments, Margaret ;-P Thank you for your kind words

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