Thursday, 21 August 2025

happy fragrance

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This is just a quick photo of the flowers my hubby picked from his garden and handed to me this morning. He knows I love to inhale their fragrance, LOL. It is night now (2130 hrs) and they still look pretty fresh and the soft fragrance is just as intact. 

These mogras (jasmines) are from one of his potted plants which has been giving us flowers in huge numbers throughout this year! There are five here and there were still fully bloomed flowers on the plant which he did not pluck. We try to leave them if there are buds around them. 

Interestingly, the early flowers did not have much fragrance despite being prolific, unlike the other plant which gave few but extremely fragrant blooms. And I was quite disappointed - good to look at, but not to inhale. Suddenly a month back, in its third or fourth flourish, the heavenly fragrance arrived! 

I haven't taken any pics of his potted plants in a long while, but many of them are doing really good, giving us so much pleasure including a 'crop' of ajwain (oregano) leaves, etc. Some, though have had to be replaced.

Friday, 15 August 2025

independence day tatting

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 Well, I managed to finish it, almost. Chain for the necklace remains to be attached, but this will give a fair idea of how the Lotus Motif Necklace looks. 

My necklace with the Indian flag colours for #HarGharTiranga2025 using tatted motifs of our national flower - the lotus. Proud to celebrate our 79th Independence Day today.

Two motifs layered to give a lotus with more petals and layers. On top is the motif from my previous post (Anchor Pearl cotton size 8) while the larger one behind is with a thread I'd remembered buying and thinking it fit for ANKARS.

Kankri thread (in cones) that I'd bought back in April and boy, was it smooth sailing! No issues with either tatting or closing the large rings. It was super fun to tat. This is an artificial silk thread. However, the difference in the motif sizes is quite visible.

I made no changes to the orange petals - pattern shared here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/08/lotus-tatting.html
However I did tweak the green rings as follows -  (from right to left, clockwise) 
ringF: 12 - 4 - 9. 
ringG: {lies above F}  9 +(F) 6 - 6 - 9.
ringH: {lies behind G} 9 +(G) 4 - 12. 

Another visual comparison of size. The larger motifs measure about 4.5cms across and 4cms high.

Another arrangement of the three motifs.
 
And joined into a necklace or a bracelet if you prefer. At present the length is 7.5 inches - just right for a bracelet.
I tatted a pair of white rings (Anchor Pearl cotton size 8) attached to adjacent motifs with a blue bead in the center. So all colours in my flag are included!
TIP: The center pairs are (8+8) while the end pairs are (6+6) with a bicone crystal between them. 
Instead of tatting over the first ring tail, I slipped it through the bead after closing the ring, and then tatted over it in the 2nd ring. And the 2nd ring tail was again slipped through the bead to the other side and sewed in. This way I have 3 threads through the bead, making it quite stable.

Its difficult to capture the effect and colours here unless I take time out to try out different backgrounds and brightness .... Hubby approves, so you have his word that it looks quite spectacular.
I haven't even blocked or processed the motifs.

The motifs tat up so quickly (when the thread is right, LOL) that I'd love to make a little scenery with them.


Wednesday, 13 August 2025

lotus tatting

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 Every year I try to tat something for our Independence Day celebrations.... if not a dedicated project, then using the tricolour in whatever I may be working on at the time. This year I felt it was much more vital given the international and more importantly our domestic situation where the parties who are in the opposition at the center keep peddling falsehoods and agenda-driven false narratives in order to show the world that Indian democracy is on shaky ground, the election process is flawed and manipulated, etc. They do not hesitate to bad-mouth the country and its institutions in their hatred towards the democratically elected Prime Minister. They cannot even digest our superiority in our  retaliation (Operation Sindoor) to the terror attack on Indian tourists by nationals from the neighbouring country! 

Lotus is our national flower and this is my prototype. 
Now you may ask where is the third colour?! Good question.
I had started by using this motif as a charm for a bracelet with a white tatted band/braid, sprinkled with some blue. Every colour has its symbolic value which I have explained in previous years.
Now I wonder whether I will have sufficient time.
Another idea is to tat a few more motifs and glue to a greeting card, with tatted blue/white chains representing water. 
Which do you prefer?
I chose ANKARS style stacked rings or ring on ring technique. Though incidental, I like the fact that this technique came from Russia. I've read more Russian literature than American!

LOTUS  MOTIF 
(prototype) Pattern by Muskaan © Aug2025  
Single shuttle. Starting from the left orange ring ....
NOTE - since this is a prototype, there are a few count changes made along the way for the petals. I am happy with the flower count but the green rings can be stacked a bit more. Hence some tweaking of count will be needed. 
Start ring by leaving a small loop and tail over tails. This loop is later used to make a shepherd's crook join at the end. https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/search?q=shepherd+crook
ringA: 19 - 4 - 15. dnrw
ringB: {lies above A} 15 +(to A) 5 - 5 - 15. dnrw
ringC: {lies above B} 15 +(to B) 6 - 6 - 15. dnrw
ringD: {lies under C} 15 +(to C) 5 - 5 - 15. dnrw
ringE: {lies under D} 15 +(to D) 4 - 19. dnrw
Attach green thread and cut and hide orange tail. [UPDATE: See updated pattern here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/08/independence-day-tatting.html]
ringF: 10 - 4 - 6. dnrw
ringG: {lies above F} 6 +(to F) 6 - 6 - 6. dnrw
ringH: {lies under G} 6 +(to G) 4 - 10. 
Join to starting loop at base of ringA and cut and hide tail.
TIP: I will join rings F & H or make the segments longer than 6ds in order to make the overlap more visible.

I don't know how original this motif is - it seems pretty basic to me. If you have seen anything similar, do please let me know so that we can acknowledge the designer.

In Anchor pearl cotton size 8 (equivalent to Lizbeth size 20) the motif is 3.5cms wide and 3cms high.

I had trouble with closing the large rings with this thread and am thankful it did not break. It did flip the last half-stitch and I had to rectify it each time despite care and precaution while closing. After the first two rings I remembered Patty Dowden's Working with Large Rings tips and closed the ring in two phases (like in the dimpled yorkie) - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2015/03/experimenting-with-colours.html

Let's see what tomorrow brings - hopefully plenty of time to decide, tat, and complete for 15th August to celebrate #HarGharTiranga!

Thursday, 7 August 2025

celebration tatting

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We celebrate the brother-sister bond of Rakshabandhan on the 9th of August this year. So I had this strong urge to collect motifs into rakhis, as I have done a few times over the years. 

I had a collection of these rose and floral motifs from past test-tatting and tutorial exercises, and I had intended to arrange and attach them into a necklace or collar to celebrate International Lace Day (June 22nd, 2025). 

Both motifs are adaptations of the central rounds of Eleonore Endrucks' pattern E42 in her 1920 book, ‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’, and reworked by Paola Emilia Rotuletti (2021). (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NgPuAzM83cjVoWvzFaiAIp7UDbuueBB0/view)

The small motif on top is the E42 Roses by Daniela Galli (2025) which she kindly shared for the ILD 2025. Pattern PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HiDjl4A_CkRcRGqpjhEItWqgEI1bGMhE/view 
There is a small and a large rose, both of which can be worked with a ball and shuttle in one pass.

The large motif below is the E42 Flower Motif by Muskaan (2023). It is my 6-repeat adaptation for my E42 Antiks Snowflake (2023). Pattern PDF - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U5J5sjuAA7D0qGPOGnK9RJ83MKdNkWSZ/view

I had used the large motifs to demonstrate three ways of climbing out without the need for split chains. https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2023/11/game-antics.html

I love lock stitch aka lock chains and simply picked up the knitting cotton size 10 threads in contrasting colours. I worked with one ball and shuttle. The rakhi motifs are all worked in size 20 crochet cotton from various brands.

 
Just so I remember for future, here's how I brought the motifs together with a Swarovski faceted bead (4.5mm) in the center. Pre-string the bead onto a length of thread and slide it to the center; bring both ends through the layered motifs; adjust and wind one end on a shuttle. 
Now from the ball pull off a length similar to one half of the first thread, leave it aside and start tatting a lock chain from the center. When desired length is reached, remove shuttle and again wind it with the other end and repeat the lock chain with ball thread on the other side. The bead remains locked in.

And for the tips, I inserted a bead through both threads at one end, tied a knot niched with the bead and trimmed off the tails. Repeated it on the other side. This seemed the quickest way to finish off the rakhi/bracelet.

The above large motif is from the original E42 center - notice it has 8 repeats.
In fact each E42 rose is also slightly different with tiny tweaks. It's fun to play around.

All together again. Rakhi traditionally has a thin string for tying. However, for a bracelet, one can use broader braids, which are shorter in length with relevant findings instead of ties.
Of course if tatted specifically for a bracelet or rakhi, one can embellish the motifs with beads, picots, etc. Mine are SOUP rakhis hence plain.
💥💥💥💥💥 

Now I had initially collected the motifs back in May with the intention of making a necklace or collar as stated at the beginning.
I played with arrangements using all the motifs at hand. The above could become a necklace with addition of beads and bling...while the one below could be a collar.

Besides these, I had several other arrangements, including asymmetrical ones but deleted the pics someway along the way.

After several possible arrangements, this is what I found the most appealing and settled on it. Tatted ring or curled ring connectors would be used to link adjacent motifs. However I couldn't get myself to accomplish even this simple task and the lace day passed by without any tatting. 

Who knows if the mood takes me I might even free the motifs from the rakhis and rearrange as a necklace. What is your verdict/preference? Leave as rakhis or make a necklace?

NOTE - These are free patterns but please name the designer and the pattern when you make and post And also use the hashtag #Endrucks1920Project.

Many many thanks to Daniela and Paola - always ready to help and share 💕

Related Posts
Antiks Snowflake pattern and more - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/search?q=Antiks
Patterns for Rakhi/Bracelets - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/p/patterns-designs.html - listed under Holidays, Festival and Jewellery - Hands.
Endrucks, Holidays and Jewellery directories also have some rakhi models -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1w1TZBg-HIzseGEUoJ-rko7tNbtSgZY5A18Oy2Y9Hh0Y/view

Thursday, 31 July 2025

interwoven beaded bracelet

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As promised, here is another pattern and technique reveal from my bead tatting post back in May. All relevant links are listed at the end of this post.
A simple name - Muskaan's Interwoven Beaded Bracelet, made using four shuttles with pre-strung beads on each and Barbara Arango's variation of the Interlocking split rings technique.

Above is a practice pattern I am sharing. As you can see in the inset, traditionally 4 shuttles are used and the split rings are tatted simultaneously, lying close to each other. The idle pair of shuttles is passed through the open SR and then the ring is closed so that the next SR will is encapsulated and overlap with the previous. video link at end

Barbara used the flexibility of 4 shuttles to distance the SRs with a chain between two SRs. She used it to create the desired effect in a round doily! 
Practice Pattern: 
To keep track, I used 4 different thread colours in each shuttle....
Sh1: yellow; Sh2: cream; Sh3: pink; Sh4: blue.
I started with two normal rings.
Sh1) R1: 18. dnrw, SS
Sh2) Ch1: 6.
Sh3) R2: 18. dnrw, SS [insert R1 through R2]
Sh4) Ch2: 6.
Sh1) SR3: 9 / 9. dnrw, SS  [pass shuttles 3 & 4 back to front through SR3 before closing it]
Sh2) Ch3: 6.
Sh3) SR4: 9 / 9. dnrw, SS  [pass shuttles 1 & 2 back to front through SR4 before closing it]
Sh4) Ch4: 6.
Continue the SR steps for desired length.
Posting the shuttles front to back will give the opposite overlap.

Having 4 shuttles meant I could have beaded strings instead of Barbara's chains between the SRs! Which led to the bracelet above. 
Muskaan's Interwoven Beaded Bracelet   ©May2025
String all 4 shuttles with seed beads. In my model worked with Anchor Pearl Cotton size 8 ---
Sh1 & Sh2 with teal thread, CTM, and purple seed beads
Sh3 & Sh4 with dark purple thread, CTM, and yellow seed beads

Follow the process and instructions as explained in the practice pattern. However, instead of chain, slide beads from both shuttles before starting the next ring or SR. 
Sharing only the repeated portion of the pattern ---
Sh1) R1: 3 [- 3]x7. Slide 5 beads from Sh1 & 2. dnrw, SS
Sh3) R2: 3 [- 3]x7. Slide 5 beads from Sh3 & 4. dnrw, SS [insert R1 through R2]
Sh1) SR3: 3 [- 3]x3 / 3 [- 3]x3Slide 5 beads from Sh1 & 2. dnrw, SS [pass shuttles 3 & 4 back to front through SR3 before closing it] 
Sh3) SR4: 3 [- 3]x3 / 3 [- 3]x3Slide 5 beads from Sh3 & 4. dnrw, SS [pass shuttles 1 & 2 back to front through SR4 before closing it] 
Repeat SR3 and SR4 for desired length. 
Posting the shuttles front to back will give the opposite overlap.

I ended with a curled ring (see inset) that works as a toggle for a quick & lazy finish.

Note: The beads are a slightly different size. Unfortunately I can't find my notes but I remember there was a little TIP I wanted to share. Oh well, perhaps I will find it some day and make a proper PDF presentation. 

Future Ideas - Add more beads in place of the picots. Throw off rings or decorative picots on one or either side. Attach more braids with same or additional colour for a broader version. The alternate SRs can differ in size or different sized threads can be used.

UPDATE (18th Aug, 2025) - Splocik has used the tweaked braid as a foundation, adding rounds around it, for two bookmark versions here - https://oczka2.blogspot.com/2025/08/zakladka-na-podstawie-motywu.html

💛💛💛

INTERWOVEN  versus  INTERLOCKING

Often the two are used interchangeably in tatting terminology. Confining myself to the split ring braids,  there are several techniques and effects that tatters have created over the years. These may range from a single row of split rings (called a SR braid or cord), or a double row where the SRs are interlaced and lie adjacent to each other. 

Or the braids may lie 'stacked' with overlapping SRs. These are the SR braids that are interwoven where the SRs from two braids lie intertwined through each other. These are also called interlocking SR braids and can be made with either 2 or 4 shuttles - two independent braids woven through each other; a foundational braid encapsulated within the second on-going braid; simultaneously tatting the SRs using 4 shuttles. 

Then there is the 3D chain maille effect where each subsequent SR lies at right angles to the previous one just like in interlocking chains and links in jewellery. I prefer to call these 3D SR braids Interlocked and the 'flat' ones Interwoven. This gives a more exacting visual especially since there are several ways to interweave and interlock the braids, whether 2D or 3D. 


Related Posts and Links -
 
 
Simple interweaving - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/03/exciting-firsts.html 
Interlocking split rings 2 Karen Cabrera Lesson 79 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR04RLHdmA0   (2 shuttles)
Interlocking split rings 2 Karen Cabrera Lesson 80 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBrDRLFibO8   (4 shuttles)
How to start and end SR without a knot - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2016/11/beginning-or-ending.html 
SR braids, including beaded, some with pictorials - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/search?q=SR+braid 
Interlaced SR braids with pictorials and patterns - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/search?q=interlaced+SR
Tatting with Beads - a few effects - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/05/bead-tatting.html

Monday, 28 July 2025

viral spread

Pin It now! This would've been the first time an entire month would've been devoid of a single blog post here in my 12/13 years of blogging! Couldn't let that happen, now.
 
The reason for this silence and absence has been my own viral flu which came on a bit severely this time. Since we started taking the flu vaccine annually, we only get some very mild symptoms, easily covered with some paracetamol tablets. Despite the antibiotic course, it left me totally devoid of energy - both mental and physical. I am still taking extra measures to overcome the inflammation and this leaves me very little time to do much.  And while I have been visiting blogs to see new posts, I haven't been in a very chatty mood nor mode, hence no comments ... hope to make up for it soon. As it is, the new line of treatment I started some months back hasn't worked, at least clinically, leaving me more exhausted than previously. The book editing has been shelved for probably two months now and I might not be able to get back to it till late September when I see my pulmonologist with blood tests, etc. :-(

All I can manage are kind of mindless activities which is why the  other virus (below) has been detected at an opportune time ...

💦💦💦💦💦

Interestingly, another virus was detected – a simple ‘s’ that spoiled the party! Spellings are so important especially when citing or crediting. 

‘Die Schiffchen-Spitzen’, 1920, by Eleonore Endrucks
NOT  
‘Die Schiffchen-Spitszen’

 

I profusely apologise for inadvertently introducing an ‘s’ into the book title when we started the Endrucks 1920 Project. Initially my spelling was correct, but when I typed it in my fall-back word doc, the 's' creeped in and I continued to copy and paste this in my blog, PDFs, and articles. :-( 
Except for a miniscule number, this has also been copy-pasted by almost everybody through the years till Manju Talekar’s sharp eyes spotted the error and pointed it out some weeks back. 
Since then, my extremely supportive PIC Ninetta Caruso and I have been on a mission to update all Google docs, blog posts, and pattern PDFs with the correct spelling.

We also created a checklist of other updates we had been mulling over since this has been an evolving and an unbelievably expanding Project. I am taking this opportunity to simultaneously incorporate as many of these updates as possible and Ninetta will be doing the same eventually (she has already completed the spelling-change in her PDFs!). This often requires some reformatting and could easily take up to an hour or more for each PDF. Unfortunately, we cannot do anything about articles written for publications but we can be extra vigilant in future.

PLEASE NOTE that while the original reworked pattern PDFs have her full name, Eleonore Endrucks-Leichtenstern, we have removed her maiden surname in the derivative patterns and now use only Eleonore Endrucks. And all her 44 patterns are listed as E1, E12, etc., where E stands for Endrucks.

We are also adding the links which did not exist before, viz., the EP LINKS and the Directory links.

My sincere apologies once again and please do not hesitate to inform us of ANY discrepancy or problem you might encounter in any of the documents. We wish to remain as error-free as possible.

And many many thanks to Manju and Ninetta!

Thursday, 26 June 2025

quick tatting

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 I first shared a pic of my Fan Palm motif or pendant here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/05/bead-tatting.html . Now I have the pattern ready --- 

Fan Palm Motif/Pendant by Muskaan (March2025) pattern PDFhttps://drive.google.com/file/d/16amEUnVT7ERSySRJqbMsj0af0Xu_MFsP/view

It is a simple motif that can be worked with a ball and shuttle and the beads are not pre-strung. 

It is a prototype I made to show beads over/on a picot. These beads are slipped over the long measured picots at the time of joining. Or they can be slipped over the picot while it is being formed, and held with a paper clip or marker. I prefer the former to avoid beads and clips getting in the way of smooth tatting. 

Measuring the Picot (including using beads as a picot gauge)https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kk6rtyIUvo5JFA5u3vE3ruU2Z7zQ9fuq/view


I deliberately chose to do a mock ring since I did not know how big I wanted it. And then made an under-over or alligator join across the start of the chain. There are several ways to make the under-over join (alligator join is only one of them). Refer to my pictorials here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2018/05/mock-rings-1-under-and-over-join.html  and https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2018/05/mock-rings-1-u-o-join-continued.html

The diagram in the PDF is simply a guide. You can choose to tat with two shuttles if you wish to empty them of leftover threads. You can even work the mock ring as a true ring and without need for an under-over join. 

For a plain, flat leaf, avoid any beads on the picots. 

I used 4mm beads, but you can choose smaller ones and adjust their number accordingly. Oh dear, I've been so flaky lately that I forgot to take a pic of this on a chain. Hmm, not too difficult to imagine, right?

This is such a quick tat, really, and easily adaptable to any thread and bead size. Or go all around for a floral motif! Hope you enjoy the pattern. 

Thursday, 12 June 2025

variant tatting

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At the end of May I received this lovely cheerful version of my Just So Coaster tatted by Vani Kattoju. She designed a variation on the last round based on my original. 

Notice how she used Lousie Uteg' stacked rings but shifted their placement for a less dense round than mine. Alternating with these clusters is lower motif with a thrown Josephine knot/ring for a cute point.
At my request, she quickly and graciously shared her pattern ...

Round 6 counts are inked on the model above. It is best to use 2 shuttles, ctm, to throw off the JK neatly. 

Find the complete pattern here - 

Many many thanks, Vani, for being a real trooper!

Friday, 6 June 2025

bridge tatting

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 Like I said in my recent posts, expert and experienced tatters have graciously come to my aid whenever I asked for it. And some have gone a step further by sharing their work and/or discussing techniques and terminology even before I asked.  One such is Judith Connors who has been instrumental in guiding and inspiring me through this past decade. My presentations have been influenced by her despite not being a perfect student.

Early last month, Judith sent me her article on 'Building Bridges' along with a pic of her Fan motif (If you are a member, you can see her model in the Queensland Tatters 2025 group post here - https://craftree.com/forum/threadfs/40423?page=1#258577). We had discussed bridging some years back, too. I was in a state of tatting inertia when this motif instantly spurred me to wind my shuttles and tat since this decorative/functional bridge had been on my trial list since 2019 (https://craftree.com/forum/threads/39159), but never got down to actually applying it. I did do the Rose Motif from Priscilla Tatting Book No.3!   

Bridging Flower Motif - based and adapted from Judith Connors' Fan motif
sharing my process, pattern, and tips/tricks

How many rounds does this motif have? 
Do we cut after the inner 'rosette' round?
Were Celtic shuttles or needle used for the Celtic effect?
Or were 4 shuttles used for the interlaced/overlapping chains? 

Getting back to the present motif, it occurred to me that I could use the element to create overlapping or interlaced chains instead of single lines! So off went my shuttles to confirm. 

Now this post is only about the adapted motif - process, pattern, and tips/tricks. I have pics for a pictorial, along with the background and explanation, terminology and history. Part of it is already explained in the link above (https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/01/bridging-gaps.html). The rest will be shared in a few days to avoid stepping on Judith's class despite her permission. For the curious, we know the technique as split chain, which is a misnomer and limiting, meant mainly for climbing out.  

My first attempt. I ran out of thread and also realised that if I continued around there would be cupping (I had increased the count in some parts). Moreover the thread had a tendency to unravel, even though it is Anchor mercerised cotton. Cut my losses and started over.

Design Tip starting with a magic circle: Since I wasn't sure how big the central ring should be, I preferred to use the  magic circle (the multiple threads are to make the picot large enough to join to later). Wrap the thread around the magic circle and start the first inner chain. End each chain with a lock join around the circle. 
TIP to keep last half-stitch flipped: The marker on the right - since each bridge is a long chain, by the time it was completed, the last half-stitch often unflipped and locked the core thread below. This temporary marker on the core thread prevents it from happening. 
After a few repeats, I pulled on the magic circle to see whether it was working well. Successful; no cupping or ruffling.

Bridging Flower Motif pattern
  1. Only 2 shuttles are used with continuous thread and the entire motif is worked in one pass. 
  2. 8 repeats and all chains in this prototype. No space for a central ring. In Anchor mercerised crochet cotton size 20 (equivalent to Lizbeth size 10), the motif measures 6.5cms in diameter.
  3. In the image above, I have split the sequencing (A to F) to indicate where there is a change of direction , shuttles, or element. 
  4. The entire motif is worked clockwise from the front.
  5. Chains C & E are bridging chains aka bridge, bar. 
  6. I used a 2cms folded picot gauge to measure the bare thread for bar/bridge before lock joining it to a picot on the previous element.  TIP:  I found that making a lock join by pulling the loop down instead of up through the picot makes a neater start to the bridge.
  7. These bars are covered with Dora Young's Knotless Method or tied stitches worked from left to right. I worked them all from the front, though there are several variations of the method. 
  8. NOTE: The arrows for bridges indicate where the thread from shuttle2 goes, not the direction of working the stitches. 
  9.  While making each subsequent bridge, keep it in FRONT of the previous chain so that the overlapping is synchronised.  
10. For the bridges on the last rosette chain, TWO each had to be made! The above image shows the first pair done and the 2nd pair is being bridged.
After working the first bridge exactly like ch-C, then one more bridge is made joining to the first rosette on the right, at the base of the very first bridge. The stitches are then worked using the Australian method. This, too, is worked from the front, but in the opposite direction (right to left). Repeat this for the 2nd pair of bridges. 
Important: To maintain overlap, pass the shuttle under and over the last bridge both times.

11. After the motif is finished, and both threads are in the center, I threaded them together and inserted the needle through the picots held open with the magic circle, and kept removing the threads from the circle. Final tie, cut, and hide ends.
Option: One can use metallic thread or colour-coordinated thread for the magic circle and leave it be after tightening the slip knot. Then hide all ends - from the motif as well as the circle.

 
Possible Variation: However one can use a central ring of 10 small picots separated by 1ds and make a 10-repeat motif. 
Future Idea: Can we use this bridging technique to work block tatting over or across an element?

I will try to write the pattern in a more lucid form when I share the pictorials and other details. Here I wanted to focus more on the process.

Technique Option: Also, instead of the bridges going from right to left, we can move forward. Thus from chain A we can work the 'bridge'  like a floating chain or single shuttle split chain, leaving a picot open with a paperclip to join to later. 

Bridge tatting or bridging encompasses a lot more, not all of which is outlined here. In this post and motif, the bridges are ornamental - a design element; they can be functional too. Hopefully I will be able to cover it all in the pictorials post. 

I cannot thank Judith enough for her valuable mentorship and guidance since we 'met' at InTatters a decade ago! We may not always agree but the discussions are always lively and passionate!

Wednesday, 4 June 2025

design tatting

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 Its been a while since I updated the entries that came in for my DAL 2025 challenge. I shared the first 7 versions (with patterns!) here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/03/colour-me-happy.html. Now, the next one to start the challenge was Donna McDade who made 8 versions (3 up from last year's DAL)! I will dedicate an entire post to her next time, since there is a lot of good news to share and celebrate. Meanwhile, these are what my other wonderful participants sent in .....

All versions of Muskaan's DAL 2025 Challenge can be found here -https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mQmdXWXQmcbXQ48nRz9FBeTJf_DoJqKz/view


Anita Barry 

See the dense 3rd round? Those are Louise Uteg's stacked rings from her 1970s original doily!  
I think this 4-round version looks like a nice Christmas wreath.

Padma Mandayam
Round 3 was inspired and adapted from Lella Loops' version, with the addition of a 4th original round.
Written pattern is shared in the google doc.

Janet Crow
A colourful spring version with inclusion of butterflies and more rounds. She graciously presented the pattern in a PDF. https://drive.google.com/file/d/16wfGTDxjNovnfWMYmZfqIgn1tmwDzIgY/view
The motif glued to her hand-sewn bag in which she carries her tatting supplies to meetings, etc.!

Lillyan
Janet's 14 year-old talented granddaughter is trying her hand at many crafts, including tatting! Her version is like clubbing where she adapted and applied Karey Solomon's Cat & Mice pattern. Pattern will be shared if they get due permission.

 Margaret Davies
Despite all the curve balls life throws her way, Margaret has valiantly participated again. She shared her WIP here - https://margaretsdesignercards.blogspot.com/2025/03/happy-international-tatting-day-and.html
Her 5th round ruffled and she decided to cut it off. While this modification lays flat, she might tweak the stitch count at a future date. Hence no pattern shared yet.  

Elisabeth Dobbler   worked the initial 2-round motif but was discouraged with the way her picots came out. Shelved for the present. The WIP pic is in the doc.

Join in whenever you can! This is open-ended. Perhaps I will also climb out of my limbo to add another round or two to my own version.

Words fail to express my gratitude and happiness to all participants! 

Related Posts
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/02/dal-2025-challenge.html  Start the challenge any time you wish, and send me your version!
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/03/colour-me-happy.html  First batch of DAL 2025 versions