connecting with joins

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Wanting to get back on track last month, I chose a ‘simple’ one like Day 10. But as always, I have a penchant for complicating everything ! I have continued to play with colour combinations & placements in this snowflake, too.

The Tenth Day of December Snowflake

Lene Björn

from 24 Snowflakes in Tatting

for 2016 Snowflake Challenge on Craftree

Con-joined !

Visualization : The USP of this snowflake, for me, is the elegant curves of the long chains, which I wanted to highlight in a single colour (yellow here), keeping the rest of the pattern in the background. Could this be accomplished without an overhand tie, since the SLT would create a slight dent or break in the chain ?! If not SLT, then what else ???  

Round 1 – measures just over 1”

3 strands of Anchor embroidery cotton : 0325 .

Techniques : single shuttle, rings-only, join last ring to first ring, hiding ends with SSSR, and hiding ends with whip stitch.

Simple round. To avoid hiding ends, I used SSSR for last ring . And hid the other tail with whip stitch on pink segment of 1^st ring. 

The whip stitch really works !!! Much easier, too, and I have been using it this past month. Thanks Carollyn !

Round 2 – measures 3¼” final

Anchor Size 40 yellow 4054-0293 in shuttle 1

Anchor Size 50 lavender 4054-098 in shuttle 2

Techniques : 2 shuttles, mock rings, Reverse Join (RJ), outer thread join (otj) , ball thread join, folded chain, picot joins (PJ), floating or thrown rings (FR), decorative & graduated picots.

fhs - first half stitch ; shs - second half stitch ; vsp - very small picot

To fold chain, start with a very small picot followed by seta (2fhs) or by setb (2shs). Folding the chain automatically reverses work, re-positioning the shuttles/threads. The same is true for reverse join, where shuttle positions get switched. Hence, one may have to continue to tat from the back side, even though this has not been indicated in the pics. (Please note : all pics, except #6, are taken from front side, even though work may have been reversed)

Working Round 2

Except for the lavender floating ring, all tatting was done with shuttle 1 .

1. Mock ring in order to split it into 2 colours. Reverse Join used to link to Rnd 1.

I also experimented with outer thread join, but preferred RJ. 

2. Fold chain (vsp, seta) at end so that lavender thread comes to the left ; 

normal picot join to vsp of previous chain to make a 2-coloured mock ring (inset)

 3. Make last picot of floating ring very small ; fold chain (vsp. setb) at end .

 4. Reverse Join to Round 1 ; again complete 2-coloured mock ring, but with reflected colours.

 5. Ball thread join to vsp on lavender floating ring. 

Now there are yellow picots on either side of lavender ring !

6. (as seen from back) Make normal picot on chain; fold chain ; 

Reverse Join to Rnd 1, and continue from 1.

  

My notes :

• To compensate for difference in thread sizes, I added a few stitches to size 50 lavender in Round 2.
• The picots on both sides of the lavender floating ring should’ve been longer. This would’ve prevented the yellow chains from being pulled into an angular curve. The yellow chains stayed continuous, no breaks or colour blips, but the elegant curves were lost due to the picot lengths.
• It was only after the 2^nd join, that I realized that the picot colours on either side of the lavender ring were different !!! (arrows in pic below show the mismatch on either side of lavender rings)
  
  The ball thread join came in handy here. I chose yellow picots, but the alternate is equally possible – keeping all picots lavender. (pic #6) Hmm, yes, I should've gone with lavender picots ! 

Outer thread join is something I have used (& spoken of) in my patterns for a long time, without knowing the correct name. It is Teiko Fujito's "outer thread joining method". I even confused it with the slope & roll join since it's construction is basically the same, except that one ‘pops’ the shuttle thread through the picot. This ‘pop’ encapsulates the core (SH1) thread, giving a blipfree join. The formative movements are the same as split ring joins . 

And the fun part is that shuttles can be switched in function, but the result will remain the same !!! (more on this in a future post - Part IV of Joins in Shuttle Tatting series)

My visualization did not take shape, but the happy note is that I could figure out how to choose a path(s) in order to reach the destination. Learning never goes to waste, and my growing repertoire of tatting techniques & diverse joins afforded me this freedom. I may tat this one again.

I have completed Day 7 using 3-coloured onion rings a long time back, but haven't been able to put together a post. Am currently on the last part of Day 17, where again I have used the running scroll to create mock rings in same colour, without SLT. That takes care of 10 snowflakes. To be on par, I still need to tat 2 more snowflakes this month.

Renulek's Wiosna Round 10 is over, but needs to be blocked before photographing.

happy tatting :-)

Related Posts : outer thread join in Tiny Heart Poppy

Joins in shuttle tatting Part II

Lene's Snowflakes Day 1 , Day 2 , Day 3 , Days 4 & 5 , Day 6 , Day 11

Tatting Pattern : Tiny Heart Poppy - part 1

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Tiny Heart Poppy
A  3D  Tatted Flower

muskaan  (Aug 15, 2014)

I am seriously into writing & uploading the pattern in pdf format, exploring combinations & avenues that work for me without too much hassle or learning, .... but am finding that it is taking me more time than initially anticipated. Hence, I’ve decided to share the pattern in stages, so that if anybody is interested, they can start tatting along. It will also give me time to tweak the final pattern with any feedback & suggestions provided, as well as work without any pressure.

Another reason is that it will allow me to explain certain elements in more detail.

While notations & diagrams are provided, I am also writing it in longer script …

The flower can be made Very Quickly, even though the written format seems long :-)

Peace & Tolerance Tiny Heart by Mónica Manceñido is the base for the flower petal. Hence I have named it Tiny Heart Poppy, in appreciation of her versatile original pattern.

For more examples of the versatility, check out my previous 'Designing 101 post' ;-)

In order to write out the pattern, I have followed Jane Eborall's notation to a large extent.

I apologize for the unprofessional diagram ... hoping to do a much better job learning & drawing on a new program ...

Poppy Flower

Materials

Anchor Mercer Crochet Cotton Size 20

For petals : Red 046

For centre : Yellow 0289 , Black

2 shuttles

Main techniques used :

For petals : Split Ring (optional) ; Roll Tatting ; Lock Join ; Slope & Roll Join

For centre : Josephine Rings arranged perpendicularly ; Floral Picot Chain ( in part 2 of pattern to be uploaded later )

Petals : Round 1

Techniques & abbreviations :
fhs - 1st half stitch of ds
shs - 2nd half stitch of ds

CTM – continuous thread method

R – ring

Ch – chain

–  (dash) – very small picot (as small as possible, for joining purposes only)

. (dot) – close ring

RW – Reverse Work

DNRW – Do Not Reverse Work

FS/BS – Front side/Back side tatting (optional)

SR – split ring (can be optional)

SS – switch shuttle

rs – reverse stitch / lark’s head knot / reverse double knot / 2^nd half of SR stitch

+ (plus) – join (where to join is indicated within brackets)

/ (slash) – after the slash mark, rs or 2^nd half of SR

• Flower is composed of 3 petals, made in one pass, 2 rounds, tatted in clockwise direction.
• A yellow & black centre is added later. (pattern for this in Part 2)
• IMP : All picots in the petals are very very small picots, mainly for joining purposes.
• TIP : For beginners : If one in uncomfortable with Split Rings, the 3 petals can be tatted separately/individually & joined as one tats along. But remember to add picots & avoid twist when 3^rd petal is joined to 1^st ! Click for Tiny Heart Pattern
• *In some rings, in order to keep the stitch count the same, I have made a picot Within a ds eg. ( 2ds, 1 fhs, vsp, 1 shs, 2ds ) .This is notated as ( 2½ - 2½ ) ; thus total ds count for this segment would be 5 . But one could try it with ( 2-3 ) or (3-2) as long as the same count is followed throughout.
• Option : FS/BS tatting, for some chains, is indicated by italics & red text colour.
• No tails need to be hidden as they will be encapsulated later.

2 shuttles, CTM, with red colour thread

Refer to Diagram below ...

Petal 1 –

R A : 4 - 2½* - 2½ - 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

R B : 4 + (to A) 12 . DNRW  SS

Ch : 5  DNRW  SS

R C : 12 – 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

R D : 4 + (to C) 2½ - 2½ - 4 . DNRW

SR E : 4 + (to D) 2/ join to base of Ring A with Sh2 (to form clover), 4 + (to A) 2 – 3 – 3 . DNRW

1^st petal (tiny heart) made.

Petal 2 –

SR F : 2 – 4 / 3 – 3 – 2 – 4 . DNRW

R G : 4 + (to F) 2½ + (to D) 2½ - 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

R H : 4 + (to G) 12 . DNRW  SS

Ch : 5  DNRW  SS

R I : 12 – 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

SR J : 4 + (to I) 2½ / join to base of Ring F, 4 + (to F) 2½ . DNRW

2^nd petal (tiny heart) made.

Petal 3 –

SR K : 2½ - 4 / 2½ - 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

R L : 4 + (to K) 12 . DNRW  SS

Ch : 5  DNRW  SS

R M : 12 – 4 . RW

Ch : 3 RW

R N : 4 + (to M) 2½ + (to A of 1^st petal) 2½ - 4 . DNRW

SR O : 4 + (to N) 2 + (to E of 1^st petal) 3 – 3 + (to F of 2^nd petal) / join to base of Ring K, 4 + (to K) 2 .

3^rd petal complete.

One poppy flower with 3 petals made. But do not cut thread yet.

TIP : One can forego All Reverse Work & tat purely from the front side by using Reverse Stitch ( also known as Lark’s Head Knot, Direct Tatting, Wrapped/Unflipped stitch or Reverse Double Knot as in Directional Tatting). This is applicable wherever FS/BS tatting is indicated in red. So, instead of FS/BS, do the rs & don’t see the reverse of the work !

Petals : Round 2

Techniques & abbreviations :

Lj – Lock Join

RT – Roll Tatting

S&R J – Slope & Roll Join

Bring the threads up to the picot join between rings J & K & make a Lock Join (as indicated in diagram). You can either bring up the bare threads (since it is a very short distance), or a chain of 2-3 ds can be made to ‘climb out’, and then Lj to outer picot join.

From this point on, Roll tatting chains are made & joined at regular intervals, to create an outline encompassing each tiny heart petal.

• The roll count may vary by a couple of wraps, depending on tension, etc.
• Since there are no free picots on the outer margins of the petals/rings, some joins will have to be made through a ds cap. 

Here is the wrap count, ( +/- 1 wrap ) :

**RT 17 , S&Rjoin to center of ring L, 
RT 23 , S&Rjoin to ring M, 
RT 23, S&Rjoin to center of 5chain, 
RT 17, Lj to picot between rings N & A.

Repeat from ** twice, to encompass the 2 remaining petals.

Lj to starting point.

It is not necessary to cut the threads. Bring them to the centre, join to any central picot. Leave a tail of 6-7 inches, cut. These tails will serve during encapsulation for the stem.

TIP : Patty Dowden shared this wonderful tip in same thread. “If I am roll tatting a ring or a chain and need to join to a picot, I just start an up join and then I don't finish the second half. By simply working the first half of a join, the appearance of the roll tatting is preserved and the join is just fine.”

Moreover, there is no need to do a ds before & after a join. “I like to keep my roll tatting as roll tatting from start to finish.”

The visual outcome is Amazing !

TIP : Another way of doing the Slope & Roll Join :

Slope & Roll Join can be made in following manner, which I find easier & quicker as the motion of shuttle remains fluid, all in same direction. End result is the same. We have discussed this in a Craftree thread here

It can be made when one is working with 2 shuttles or a shuttle & ball :
To make this join :
1. Bring Sh1 thread up through picot/space to make a loop (as in normal picot joins) ;

2. Pass Sh2 through this loop;

3. TUG at Sh1 thread to PULL DOWN Sh2 thread ;

4. And simultaneously snug the wrap/join. It should become smooth & allow the previous stitches to move freely on the core thread ie. Sh1 thread. (it does not lock the stitches)

Patty D has pointed out that this is similar to Teiko Fujito's "outer thread joining method" (post #3 in above thread)

UPDATE : In the next post, here -  part 2 of Tiny Heart Poppy pattern - is the rest of the pattern : how to make the centre of the flower & the buds & leaves ....

Motif #17 for 25 Motif Challenge

Related Posts : Peace & Tolerance Tiny Heart , Tiny Heart Poppy pattern part 2 , 

Perpendicular Concentric Rings for flower centre, How to make the bud part 1  & part 2