applying techniques rakhi

It's that time of the year again - Rakshabandhan is round the corner and Indian tatters are already posting lovely tatted rakhis. Here's my rakhi for 2020 ... AppliTech rakhi/bracelet!

The portmanteau 'AppliTech' refers to the fact that it is kind of a test or trial or experimental piece for applying a few techniques. It started as an observation piece for the Lock Join Plus methods as posted here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2020/07/lock-join-plus.html where lock join, reposition threads, SLT, and reverse join (and switch shuttle) were all used in batches, resulting in randomly placed colours on one side.

Then, in response to a question on facebook, I re-demonstrated what I had discovered last year - whether you hold the gauge above the core thread or below it (as in Ninetta's Tuft picot), provided it goes through the leg of half stitch, the final result is the Same!

All tutorial links here, including my study of picots (Interlocking, Mrs Mee, Tuft} - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/p/tatting-resources.html

I will share my detailed comparison in next post, along with more observations.

I continued on to make the 3rd Josephine Ring placing the gauge above core thread.
Each ring starts and ends with 1ds, and has a picot after every half-stitch.
Each JR is made of 20 1st half-stitches with a 5mm gauge.

Many of us have already come across this beautiful Lavender sprig by tatting_art on pinterest or Instagram and she has uploaded a how-to video here (thanks for sharing the link, Karen Cabrera).

Next, I started mock rings with treble tat stitch. I started each chain with an Intruding picot which served as the starting picot for first tds, also to join back the chain into a mock ring!

Why mock rings, you ask?! Because I did not know how big the ring should be, what the count should be.  With mock rings,  I had the freedom to keep 'bending the curve' to gauge the chain length.  Hence, no tds count. 

Close-up of the dimensional/stacked flower. Bead was added before starting the last mock ring, by pulling up a loop...

Continued with the Priscilla edging (Fig 29 from her Tatting Book 3), though this time I followed a symmetry in colour placement. Lock Join and Reverse Join are used in alternating chains to move up to the next chain. By direct tatting (unflipped/reverse stitches) every alternate chain, I could tat all from the front. No RW or turn work!
Added findings after it reached 7" length. Anchor Pearl Cotton size 8.

Perhaps with a bit more effort, I could work the 2nd part of the edging to face opposite, rather than appear continuous. But there are a lot more things on my over-full plate ;-P
See you soon ....

Oh, but before I go, Sue Fuller taught my 2017 rakhi (in March) and Bonds of Love rakhi/bracelet (in April? she liked the blue, red, white version) in the Online Tatting Class earlier this year. I didn't get a hold of the logs, though, so have no idea what transpired in the class ;-D