lay it on, baby

SOUP card and tatted rope pattern

Playing around. See, I don’t need friends to distract me; I do well enough myself !

Looking for ways to use up your little bits and pieces of tatted lace, medallions, learning or trial pieces, mistakes, etc.? Another SOUP* (Sewing On/Using Pieces)tatting card. This time I placed little pieces over the larger medallion. Haven’t glued them down yet, merely playing at a good composition….

This is where it all started – made the lower motif for a tutorial and then used up the leftover thread for the upper ring. 

In time for Diwali and other festivities – an idea in time saves a dime ;-P

I have blogged the 3 larger medallions earlier.  

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Now that Ninetta has tested it, I want to put the pattern out, since I want to get back to other projects. She has also tried another variation/modification of this SR method (I will update with the link later), as well as a whole range of other techniques and will be blogging about it over the next few weeks at least. Keep an eye out – this is just the start!

All links to design process, etc. are here.

Tatted Rope Bangle/bracelet/kadaa 

generic pattern 

The pattern can be adapted to suit your choice of thread and beads. I am merely giving the main process – adapt as you will. You can increase the number of colours, or decrease; change their placement to create new designs, …. And the length can determine which piece of jewellery it can become.  Play!

If you wish to practice without beads First,  try this tree trunk pattern here. 

MATERIALS :

Size 20 crochet cotton.

2 shuttles.

Picot gauge (I used 7mm but 6mm is sufficient)

Crochet hook (I used #12 to load bead on long picot)

Bicone crystals in 4 colours – 2mm.

With 18x4=72 crystals, this prototype is 4 inches long and about 1cm wide.

Choose one colour beads, and load half in one shuttle, the remaining half in the other shuttle. Wind shuttles ctm (continuous thread).

The remaining 54 beads will be later inserted Over the long picot,  at the time of joining, in the colour sequence desired.

NOTE : Length of long picot and number of stitches between these is determined by the size of your beads and the amount of thread you want visible.

- : measured or long picot (6 or 7 mm in this case)

B+ : load bead on long picot of previous (lower) ring, and join upper ring. I count the join as 1^st half stitch, followed by 2^nd half stitch.

SR : split ring  ; R : ring

SS : switch shuttle

Sh1 : R : 2 - 2 - 2 - 2. Close. SS and move bead from Sh2 to base of ring.

Start next SR with Sh2 keeping bead OUT of loop.

**Sh2 : SR : 1 - 1 B+ 1 - 1 B+ 1 - 1 B+ 1 / mock picot 1. Post Sh1. Close.

Leave some bare thread before working the 2^nd side of SR (as in a mock picot, equal to the height of the bead).

SS and move bead from Sh1 and start next ring with Sh1 following same process **

Repeat ** to ** for desired rows, switching shuttles and moving bead from that shuttle to the base.

TIP : It becomes easier to work the split ring if, after the 1^st double stitch, we work the 2^nd side of SR (which is only 1 stitch) and then continue back with the rest of the first side. (Thank you, Ninetta)

TIP: Post shuttle : If the shuttle that is used for 2^nd side of SR is passed through the ring before closing, the bare thread from mock picot is not visible, ie., keep the shuttle INSIDE the loop. It may cause a bit of twist in the ring, but is of no consequence. 

TIP : If you wish to join back to starting ring, seamlessly/invisibly,  tat the 1st ring as follows : 1(-1)×7. The 'free' picots can later be used to load bead and join to last ring.

Insert required findings/clasps for jewellery. Or simply tat one last ring and curl it around the first ring to complete the circle.

It gets easier and easier as one gets into the rhythm. So if a bead-challenged person (ahem, I) can do it, you surely can! Give it a try ….