continuous paths

There are some lovely doilies in Endrucks' book, all worked in one pass. What I find, though, is that unlike her straight lace patterns, the circular doilies tend to either ruffle or cup, and some tweaking of count is required. I think it is a matter of individual tatting tension?

Another thing I've noticed is that perle cotton (as in the one above) is more forgiving than mercerised cotton which makes sense due to the difference in their twist. The tight twist of mercerised cotton thread tends to keep the lace stiffer and less flexible. 

Despite all the colours in the mandala, false CTM gave me a sense of continuous tatting. However, for the Endrucks 1920 Project, I needed to tat a model that could be more easily shared in modern style which is why I chose this pistachio green in Anchor size 20. It is tatted in one pass using mock picots, split chains, and split rings to climb out. 

Above I have traced the 'modern' path of climbing out of rounds (in blue). For this to work smoothly, I had to work a couple of rounds counterclockwise. The orange path shows how Frau Endrucks moved to the next round - simply add another chain(s) till you reach the point where you can climb out! 

UPDATE: I  have coined the term 'SHADOW CHAIN' for this extra chain(s) used to climb out to the next round, row, or motif, thus enabling continuous tatting.

No need to learn any techniques, and the direction of each round remains unchanged. But as seen above, it does add extra chains along the path....something which 21st century tatters may not like. Although in fine threads, it may pass inspection, and clearly speed up tatting.

UPDATE: Pattern for this doily is uploaded, showing both methods of climbing out - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vG2g0JCVsy8cy2DfGKHEhxleq_7Rveba/view

 

Since the first few rounds can be worked off a shuttle and ball, I used my earlier tip about extending the thread between 2 shuttles. All the extra thread in left pic was wound on to the ball temporarily, till it got used up and the 2nd shuttle was needed.

Of course, one can simply keep shuttle 1 and ball thread continuous and tat till the 2nd shuttle is needed. At that point, pull out the length required, cut from ball, and wind up shuttle2.

There was a lot of ruffling in the green model, despite adding a few stitches to a later round. So I started another in tinted Anchor size 20, with modified stitch count. Worked beautifully and lay flat. The 3rd round does ruffle till the 4th round is added, but this is a structural problem.

Ran out of thread after 5 rounds, hence added a bold violet shade to add a spot of colour. I kinda like it - what do you think?

I am busy with pattern #17, hence this pattern pdf will have to wait a bit. However, for those who'd like to try it right away, you can find the written instructions and tips by Georgia here.

This is Pattern #28 from Schiffchen-Spitzen 1920 by Eleonore Endrucks-Leichtenstern. You can find all the links in the Endrucks 1920 Project doc here along with all other patterns in modern format. We are hoping to have all of Endrucks' patterns in modern format by this November - a year from when we started.