anchoring border

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This is a border I tatted may be 20 years back. I was still doing traditional tatting, with no distinct front and back side, and not bothered about any colour blips!

The pattern is shown as an off-center vertical border along a kurta front (‘Border in Tatting for a Kameez’). There is also a narrow trim along one side, which I did not make.

This is made of 2 strips repeated and linked lengthwise to create a broad lace. Notice how the rings face in opposite directions. One such strip is tatted for a pair for narrow cuffs or sleeves.

I tatted all 3 pieces – 1 broad & 2 narrow – intending to sew it on a kurta. Well, that kinda never happened and I ended up sewing the broad lace on my saree along the pallu (off-edge) when I realised the length was just right – a yard and quarter !!!

This pic shows the front and back; I sewed down the lace using 2 strands of sewing thread.

I have tried to maintain this handloom, hand block printed Kota cotton saree all these years. Ideal for summers and the broad lace anchors the lightweight pallu. But the heavy iron my presswala uses has left some discolouration on the brown thread. Oh Well, just another excuse to tat this pattern again ;-D 

The narrow strips are lying in one of my lace boxes – new and unused. Undecided what to do with them, since I don’t wear sleeves ;-P Will take pics and share when they emerge from their hiding place.

Don’t go by my working or the age-worn look, it is an absolutely enticing meandering pattern, worked in 4 pastel shades and modeled beautifully in the book. And of course, it was my favourite and only actual book I had for ages – Tatting Favourites, Book No 110T, by Anchor Design Centre, 1986. I wonder if I can take pics and show them (not the pattern but the modeled lace, and do a review of the book? Will it be against copyright rules to share pics?

meddling with medallions

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Going over the medallions document, I realized that it needed more samples – visuals are so much better than words. Excited, I got down to it. Here are a few of them.

Most of the samples in the document seemed to have single rings around the center. But trefoils, clovers, layered rings (ANKAR style), etc. can also form an enclosed space. So I created this pattern using inward facing clovers. There are thrown rings on the chains.

‘Tis the season, hence I’m calling it the Clover Wreath. Wouldn’t it work well as the center of another doily ?! The large rings need to be joined, though.

Now here’s something I don’t remember ever doing – a Central/common Picot on a Chain.

I tried to create my own pattern with 1 horizontal and 1 vertical ring on each ‘spoke’, but it wasn’t working (do you have any idea why?). Finally I took the design idea from the model #69 in Elgiva Nicholl’s ‘Tatting: Technique and History’ but used my own stitch-count and single decorative picots.

TIP: For straight chains, avoid snugging the chain too tight – we don’t want it to curve/arch. 

A central ring with picots (also called rosette by Mlle Riego) is a common feature of many patterns. Traditionally it was tatted separately. Now we have multiple options to incorporate it without cutting off thread : climb out with a mock picot ; work it as a mock ring ; and so on.

In this square, the central ring is thrown off the first chain -

When I was first learning split rings during Jane's TIAS 2014, I attempted the Fandango coaster to practice on the side. So not happy with the working ! Time to try it again. Much better.

This is a Classic Tatted Daisy. It starts with a central ring with picots. Then we add a round of outward facing rings – lock joined to the picots and separated by bare thread. Traditionally it was worked as separate rounds and with a single shuttle, hence bare thread separates adjoining rings.

Now we make it in one pass and the bare thread is sometimes substituted with chains.

Incidentally, my Aspiration Doily (trial 2) now has a Daisy center ! It is a modern construction using 2 shuttles (or a long tail for shuttle 1) with the outward rings/petals thrown off the central mock ring (SCMR).

It lies flat and the center is more solid than bare threads between rings in previous trial. 

And here’s another interesting variation :

a central ring with picots, surrounded by concentric chains, lock joined to picots on previous rounds, and a final round tatted like the traditional daisy petals with bare thread and lock joins !

So, the rosette turns into a daisy !

(a central ring with closely packed chains around it is Also called a rosette!)

These were tatted over 15 years ago when I had no notion of a lot of tatting techniques nor how to hide ends. You can clearly see spiraling rounds rather than discreet ones. Although I did get better over time and in one of the size 40 yellow ones (made a few years after the size 20 red), the inner circle is almost round with equal-size picots.

Pattern is part of a lace from ‘Tatting Favourites’ by Anchor Design Center. Each medallion is worked in 2 parts but I now realise that the outermost rings can be worked as thrown rings. 

It has been one of my favourite go-to patterns when travelling. The medallions were later joined with a wavy scroll with opposing medallions, thus functioning as motifs. 

Medallions – never too meddlesome when tatted !