that one magic node

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Inkscape hack #3

Be it any medium, I am a freehand, freestyle person. 100% accuracy and precision takes a huge toll out of me. Freehand makes me joyous, even if minor flaws creep in. Trading practicality and hedonism for perfection - my mantra or excuse?! ;-P

I had been pleasantly engaged in drawing a seemingly complex tatting diagram for my mate. It consists of many parts that are not all symmetrical. The many sized rings and chains not only face in different directions but some elements have lots of picots.

For picots, I find it easier to draw small straight lines individually with the Bezier (or pencil) tool – trying to orient as I draw. This gives me a quick first draft. Then I group them together and change their value, colour, etc.

Length and orientation may still need tweaking when the whole element/portion is done. Earlier, I would select each picot and use the arrows to do it. Not always convenient since the lines are relatively small and the arrows come in the way (how much can one zoom for each picot – my old compy can’t handle it ;-D)! Further, unless the Control key is held down, the thickness/value of the line changes. This meant an additional step to bring back the required value.

This time I discovered a very easy and sure-fix method that has multiple advantages. All we need is Just One Node! Quite magical, I’d say :-)

We can use a single end node to increase/decrease length and tweak direction. We can also shift the start/end nodes for proper alignment with other elements.

The greatest advantage, besides ease and speed, is that the thickness of the line does not change at all! And it is great when drawing asymmetrical diagrams! 

Robin’s tutorials cover symmetrically placed elements, and she uses the pencil tool to draw picots

I. Straight Line (Picot) : 

Choose just one ‘end’ node to change length or direction ! 

(see diagrams below)

Fig1 shows the first draft lines for picots. 

After selecting the picot to be tweaked, I choose Node tool. 

One can choose either of the 2 end nodes. The chosen one will become red coloured to show it is active. 

Then drag 'outwards' (in relation to the line/picot) to increase length (fig3) ; 

drag 'inwards' to decrease length (fig4) ; 

or drag sideways to right or left to change direction (fig5).

II. Curved Line/Arches (Chains) :

Choose just one node to shift arches - length or position ! 

(see diagrams below)

You might remember my quick and easy way to draw a continuous line of chains and create arches between two nodes. Sometimes, after changing the value or on close inspection I find that the points are not aligned correctly - 

one point may either not touch the ring (fig3); 

or may have invaded inside the ring (fig4); 

or may be misaligned (fig5).

All we need to do is select that point, convert to Node and move it in desired direction !

I'm sure this hack is nothing new. But for me it was an exciting self-discovery !!!

Related Posts :

Inkscape Hack #1 - drawing continuous chains

Inkscape Hack #2 - designing from pre-existing template 

hope this shortcut is helpful too...

hacking out instant designs !

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This ‘hack’ hit me earlier in the month, while diagramming some vintage edgings. I was thrilled & eager to share, TILL I began writing this post & went over to Robin’s blog for her tutorial link. She’s already covered it meticulously in her last 2 tutorials – I’d totally forgotten (yeah yeah my encroaching greyness …quit teasing me already!)

But I’m still so excited about this shortcut because it led to instant designing – literally within minutes! Relatively simple and skeletal designs thus far, but such fun playing around ! Want to see how? Read on …

How can any of my Inkscape post Not have a reference to Robin?! She has shared free diagramming templates to get us started. Earlier, I would pick a specific ring or ring combo and arrange as required by flipping, rotating, resizing, etc. For clovers in a snowflake, I’d choose the 3 rings and adjust. This not only required additional steps, but some possible heartburn when they decided to change shape on rotation ;-/ 

(Of course, post-event I know that her Drawing ‘Automatic’ Pattern Repeats tuts eliminate all that heartburn & I’ll be internalizing it for future).

So, anyway, with just a few hotkeys and her Rosette template (6 outward facing rings), I created Instant Trefoil & Quatrefoil Patterns ! And went about tatting the latter, too.

This is just the tip of the creative berg - choose and move around templates & motifs !

click on images to enlarge

 

See how easy it is to ungroup and rearrange individual motifs. One does not need an advanced knowledge of diagramming or Inkscape here.

Although clicking on images will enlarge them, here it is in pdf for easy reading and reference.

 

The top left on p3 is a hexagon from trefoils. 

This skeleton is converted into a working tatting pattern diagram - a simple 2-round snowflake - with the inclusion of chains and picots. 

In the alternate method shown below with quatrefoils, more steps have been eliminated by working with a set of 3 motifs & flipping it!

I draw my own guide lines using the grid and a bezier. Actually this was to be the 2nd hack I intended to share, because many of us still find using the guide lines and snap commands confusing. But for those who can, use the actual guide lines.

Errr, tatting wasn’t as instant as designing – the first ‘hexagon’ turned into a square (the one with tails)! Just a slight stichcount tweak, and I got a square, pentagon And hexagon all from One skeleton diagram (on the left) !!! The picots & joins were shifted in the pentagon & hexagon on the right. It creates a visibly different look, but the hexagon refuses to lay flat.

Incidentally, all rings throughout have 24ds.

  

And there's another possible pattern on p4 with quatrefoils and thrown rings, but the quatrefoils are 'inverted' ! I think it can be accomplished in one pass using SCMR with thrown inner rings and split rings along the outer circle.

Instant Designs from a pre-existing Template pdf download

Now the Quatrefoil Square & Hexagon seem to be pretty basic, although my searches did not throw up such a medallion. And even the stitchcount – I came up by myself.

If you have come across an exact replica, please do tell.

I will share this pattern & it's myriad design possibilities next time. These different shapes seem to have a nice fit to create a larger fabric. Hmmm, a magic square, too, perhaps :-D No harm aspiring, is there - & I might just have got the sequence! 

But first I need to design a triangle to fit within. All help is welcome :-) 

In the meantime I'm halfway through a bookmark & next a coaster tatting it in one pass.

Related Posts

Inkscape Hack #1

Free Tatting Templates

tatting or drawing – the name of the game is fun !

enjoy :-)

were they hieroglyphs ?

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free vintage edging pattern in modern notation  
this post is in a lighter vein, though it involved serious work

 Hieroglyphic, err, Arsenic and Old Lace

 dedicated to the wonderful Online Tatting Class

                                            A mummy wrapped in old lace,

                                            I sought to make new and replace

                                            with minimal invasion –

                                            a diagram and notation.

                                            There arose a cry in class

                                            ‘how to tat this is one pass?’

                                            To a new diagram it led,

                                            but wasn’t clearly read.

                                            The new sequence highlighted,

                                            Why was not it sighted ?

                                            Was there a real glitch

                                            or words were like hieroglyphs ?

                                            Such tricks plays our brain

                                            This is arsenic, pain not again !

                                            The new mummy they turned over

                                            To decipher the top as the lower !

                                                                           -- muskaan, May 31, 2017

I promise, je promets, lo prometto – the last and final revision of this edging. And I do apologise for putting my dear readers through this yet again - March, April, and now May, oops - the mummy rises again !

This is an image from the original Georgia sent me, for working out the sequence and diagramming. Here all 5 rows were tatted separately, with tie and cut after each. 

During my first revisit of the tatted edging from Coats and Clark (Book 121, Pattern 295), without specific guidelines, I didn’t want to change anything, except climbing out of rows for a continuous tat. Hence rows I to IV were tatted as one continuous unit. Then tie and cut. And row V was worked separately.

Some tatters wondered how to make all 5 rows in one go. Hence I included this in a revised diagram (below), to be read in conjunction with the original modern notation, and all links and information were provided in that single page (shown encircled)

Yet confusion persisted. Eyes went straight for the diagram, skipping the written matter which was highlighted through colour coding, or within boxes and the tatting sequence was the first thing on the page ! They were Not hieroglyphs, were they ?! 

I recently finished reading The Brain by David Eagleman and it is an 'eye'-opener to see how our brain takes over all our perceptions, sensations, knowledge, learning, comprehension, actions and reactions.

Anyway, they solved it by turning the page upside down ;-D (Ingenious lot here, though momentarily blinded by the diagram perhaps, ;-P !)

Why ? Because then Row I became oriented correctly – the way we would tat it. Another TWoT lesson for diagrammers.

All this could’ve have easily avoided if I hadn’t tried to avoid some extra work (yeah, yeah, a stitch in time …. and all that jazz ;-P) I should’ve re-oriented the pattern (in pic below) for the revised diagram, but thought it’d be too much work. It is easy enough to flip a diagram in Inkscape; turns out it is just as easy to flip the numbers – individually or as a group !!! I did have to reposition, but it was all fairly quick work. Another happy lesson learned too late :-)

So I give you yet again, the re-revised reoriented and this time stand-alone pattern for the edging. download reoriented diagram-only pdf here. 

Since I was going through it all again, and I didn't want to show you the same old pic, I tatted another sampler, this time in black size 50. 

And I also made another pdf this time with the pattern in written notation too. 
download Complete reoriented pattern pdf with diagram and text here

I know you must be bored, but hey, “I’m picky” ;-P And hopefully no hieroglyphic this time!
I will be striking out all previous pdfs to avoid confusion in future.

Thank you Georgia and the Online Tatting Class

for new perspectives, 
and for making me work harder to improve J

keep tatting till posterity J

hacking away imperfections

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My go-to tech gurus are Robin & Ninetta and they never fail me ! All my Inkscape learning is based off Robin's excellent tutorials, as you all already know. However, as I drew and practiced I discovered a few 'shortcuts'. But I could never share them coz I didn't know how to put up  those visuals. Now Robin has again come to my aid by finding me a superb tutorial on how to take screenshots on XP. Due to paucity of time, I have done the best I can for now (but it is such fun taking those shots ;-P). Will ask her to help me out some more ... so please bear with the under par quality of images.

Inkscape Hack #1

How to draw a Row of Chains 

Here's one of my most recent pattern diagram in which I used my quick shortcuts to draw the rows of chains, or connect rings with chains :

You may recall the pink edging that diversified into a crown, necklace, etc. This is the revised version where All 5 rows can be tatted in one pass. Once I receive the pdf link from Georgia, I will upload here & on my Patterns page. For latest new, reoriented one pass pattern (May 2017)  

Symmetric Chains in a Row

Imagine drawing one arch (chain) can copy-pasting it along the length one by one. No more ! One can make the chains of the entire row in one stroke ! Here's how .... 

A] This is the crucial step. Choose Grid from View , then select the bezier icon.

Now holding the bezier pen, start drawing a line, but clicking at intervals. When you reach the end, only then click on ENTER. As seen in image, at this stage it looks like a normal line, but we have clicked it at 3 places in between, using the grid squares to keep the spacing even (4 squares apart). 

In tatting, think of these points as the base of ring, or picots to which the chain will be joined. eg. Rows II, III, IV in pattern above. All these rows were made in this fashion...

 B] When we select Node icon, 5 nodes appear !

C] Choose the height at which we want the chains/arches. I have chosen 2 blocks on the grid. Using the node arrow (cursor), position it in the center of segment 1 and drag it upwards. It has a height of 1 square in center. If I pull further, it will rise to where the segment 2 arch is - 2 squares above. 

Repeat for 3rd & 4th segments.

I find this the fun part because the chains/arches can be manipulated to any shape, direction, angle, off-center, etc. 

The grid squares act as guides, keeping the arch symmetric.

D] Now all 4 segments have attained their shape and height.
And that's it !!!

E] We have a row of symmetric chains !

F] This is how it is after removing the grid.

This procedure is not limited to straight lines. As seen in Row V in pattern, one can go all around the scallop.

Incidentally, Row V was drawn only around one scallop. Then they were grouped together. This group was copy-pasted twice to produce 2 rows simultaneously.  

Asymmetric Chains
Play around with the node cursor/arrow and see all the different shapes that are possible ...

I have used this method to connect rings in a circle or a hexagon, too, such as are commonly found in snowflake patterns.

One cannot discount individual preferences and comfort zones. I have to work within my physical and visual limitations, hence absolute perfection is sometimes sacrificed. Yet, my experience over these past 2 years, drawing numerous diagrams, has shown that this hack works well for me and I think my diagrams have shown improvement. And for a relative newbie, it takes the fear and overwhelm out of Inkscape drawing, making it quite enjoyable and quick.

This is merely one of many methods. Learn how to use the pencil to draw symmetrical chains .

I hope to share a few more of my shortcuts in future, with hopefully better images.

Have a great day :-)

free tatting template

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You are well aware that if it wasn’t for Robin’s Inkscape tutorial series , I would probably never have learnt to use this program. She also graciously shared free templates for tatting, which I have often used/adapted in my diagrams since. Recently, she uploaded a few more graphics inspired by Ninetta's drawings.

I am currently working on a diagram & pattern, & needed many more basic diagrams to make it more visual & less textual.

So, on her suggestion, here is my free template that can be used in conjunction with Robin’s free template. It is an svg file. Please read her directions on how to use this file

This is how my file looks at present ....

Download file here : Free Tatting Template 

All diagrams can be un-grouped to re-size, modify or customize .

All text can be changed without resorting to ungrouping, by simply selecting the text icon (‘A’) on left panel of Inkscape & then clicking on the text that needs editing.

Feel free to use as desired, and send in suggestions/requests for more diagrams. I will try to draw them to the best of my skills, then update the file on my Tutorials page (hence the date, to keep track of later versions).

happy designing & drawing :-)))