misses can be good !

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my design path from learning to needle tat to pendant to shuttle tatted snowflake !

There are multiple inspirations and paths to designing; some are project-specific, others can be internalized. Long-time readers may remember many of the design paths/ processes shared, with more to come. I will keep adding them under Design Ideas and Processes .

Feynman was brutally honest in sharing his mistakes, failures, and dead-ends along with successes so that others knew the exact pathways - the hows and whys. In designing we learn from our mistakes and can put the misses to good use. 2 recent adaptations arose from doubling the chain length (The Heart Within) and joining rings incorrectly (Reflected Nights snowflake).  

But much earlier, I’d outlined how my needle-thread size mismatch led to a medallion (snowflake) instead of a pendant, and why the name 'neemiss' was coined. Here, I’d like to share more pics and details of the process for any budding & interested designer. 

Never be scared to experiment or to redeem & repurpose mistakes !

Neemiss Snowflake Design Process

It started with me trying to learn needle tatting using a thick mattress needle with size 20 thread !

DAY 1 : Basics

My very first needle tatting attempts on June 21, 2014 (clockwise from bottom right):

a red roselle (true rings) medallion ;

a ring and chain medallion where inward-facing rings are attached to a single long picot ;

interlocking rings.

DAY 2 : Burlesque Pendant !

Next day I tried clovers and chains. Then a Josephine rings at end, including a thrown JR. 

It was all so quick and easy, that instead of going around, I decided to return from the other side to create a pendant. Added tiny silver bells and a few rings in the empty space.

There are a lot of mistakes, but it was a very liberating experience – back then I struggled to design in 2D. Called it the Burlesque pendant because of the red-black combo.

DAY 3 : Conversion to shuttle tatting 

In order to convert the pattern to shuttle tatting, I wanted to change only one design element – make the center ring of second clover larger to get a well-defined dip/point.

Instead of 3-6-6-3, I made it 3-8-8-3.

Horrors ! As I finished tatting 3 clovers, the pendant shape was a compact half circle instead of a broad arc! Needle to shuttle conversion was awry because needle was too large for size 20 thread in pendant.

Nothing to it but to go ahead and complete the circle.

Sketched a couple of ideas for next round....

Went with this one, but as you can see below, not fully.    

 So now you know the reason why alternate clovers have a different stitchcount !

The final pattern can be found here.

rsqrsqrsq

That’s it. Two days of needle tatting gave rise to a snowflake.
Many lessons learned here.

I now have 2 sets of tatting needles, but no time to take it up seriously ;-P Yet, I maintain, that testing & trials can make for quick work if needle-tatted, then convert the final to shuttle. Let’s see what this year holds.

happy tatting & designing J

My first diagram & free pdf !

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My bridge to the visual vista has broken ! To put it bit more mildly, have got myself some kind of allergic reaction on the bridge of my nose, along the very strip where the reading glasses rest. Who knows, maybe my long pleasant hours on Inkscape took their toll in this manner - hooked on one, hooked by another ?! Small price to pay, even if it is so ;-P Because I am so incredibly happy with my trials & so excited to share my very first pdf with a proper diagram.

My First  Diagram & pdf Pattern!

This is my Neemiss Snowflake Pattern in acrobat, which you can download & use as you like. Here is the link : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5MqI5ByadI4a3RSbVpTdEY5UmM/view?usp=sharing

I will update the post (more pics here) & Pattern Page as well. 

I have included both the written instructions/pattern, as well as a notated diagram.

Please let me know if the link works. Any other feedback will be greatly appreciated too.

I had a tremendous journey trying to diagram on Inkscape, & as I have often said, it was Robin’s explicit tutorial series, here, that got me through ! I had dabbled in the software earlier, downloading a couple of tutorials & doing a bit of practice. But the software was huge/vast, daunting, seemingly moody/erratic, …. Robin broke it all down so neatly, stitching it to our specific needs as a tatter, that it became pretty easy to follow & apply.

I also realized that some of the ‘rules’ are pretty universal & basic. Once you understand that, one can extrapolate & apply to other commands & tools within that software. One doesn’t need to go back to the drawing board for each new step then. It becomes easy to figure stuff out, since what applies to one tool, will also apply to the others in some basic measure.

What I did do, however, was make a separate file with each stage of drawing saved in it, while my ‘working file’ was different. This way, I could go back to any stage at any time. Kind of like a template for the particular diagram. 

Thank you, Robin, for All your help !

Always appreciate your prompt responses & solutions :-)

I am pretty satisfied on the 2015 objectives front now; just hope I can keep up the pace. So far, I’ve made a couple of snowflakes, completed Jane’s TIAS 2015, learned a few new tatting techniques, challenged myself to make new patterns, & most importantly, learned to diagram & upload patterns in pdf ! On the right path ;-D

Will be out of circulation for the next couple of days, till it all heals for good. I’ve been neglecting it for these last few days, except for occasional applications, … so now I have to sit back & do nothing but home chores. Torture comes in many different forms !

Hope to catch up on all your activities eventually …

Related Post : Neemiss Snowflake

Tatting Pattern : Neemiss Snowflake

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Neemiss Snowflake

I ended my 1^st ever 25 Motif Challenge with a free pattern & am starting/continuing the next round with another free snowflake pattern. This time, though, it is my very own pattern, right from scratch ! Not derived or adapted. Nothing really new about the elements, but it’s a big start for me.

The designing has a slight history which is reflected in the name I chose for it : “Neemiss”. {No, I did not misspell “Nemesis”, although it IS an  anagram, coincidentally! It Has helped in a reverse fashion by breaking my shackles of 2D designing, hopefully.}

Back in late June, I tried my hand at needle tatting. And I realized how easy it was to design with needle tatting because one could easily unravel & redo any element … no need to cut & discard, etc., just go with the flow. That’s how I created a pendant. However, when I tried to convert that into shuttle tatting, I faced a problem & the pendant started to turn into a circle (story of my tatting life!). Easy conversion is possible Only if the needle, thread, & shuttle conform to the same size. I used a needle that was suitable for size 10 or thicker thread, but converting the pattern into a size 20 shuttle pattern required major shifts in stitchcount.

So that is the reason for the name : A Needle tatting Miss (as in mistake, omission, error), hence, “Neemiss” (in my defense, I enjoy wordplay)

This is a 2 or 3 round pattern, depending on where you want to end – 2 snowflakes in one ;-))

It is a 2-shuttle pattern that can be done in one pass, using 1 or 2 colours, or as separate rounds.

No stiffening or blocking required, since the 3^rd round creates a relatively stiff ‘border’, keeping the shape intact.

UPDATE : This pattern is now in Acrobat format with written instructions & diagram here : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5MqI5ByadI4a3RSbVpTdEY5UmM/view?usp=sharing
Feel free to download & use :-)

Threads used :

Anchor Mercer Size 20 : White ; Navy Blue w/ White (variegated) : 4054-1210

Size of Snowflake : ~ / < 3’

Abbreviations :

Round 1	Round 2	Round 3
Sh – shuttle R – ring RW – reverse work Ch – chain JK – Josephine Knot SR – split ring	JR – Josephine Ring S&R – Slope & Roll join LJ – Lock join vvsp – very very small picot	N – node/Victorian set fhs – fisrt half stitch shs – 2nd half stitch pds – padded ds (2 wraps); also called dds, spds, BDS, etc.

Round 1:

Composed of 2 sets of alternating trefoils, chains, & Josephine knots. 

A Split Ring will be required to move out of this round, if you want to make it in one pass.

Sh1 : white ; Sh2 : blue

Using Sh1 :

R : 3 – 3 – 6. RW

** Ch : 6, JK6, 6. RW

Small Trefoil :

R : 6 + 3 – 3

R : 3 + 6 – 6 – 3

R : 3 + 3 – 6. RW

Ch : 6, JK6, 6. RW

Large Trefoil :

R : 6 + 3 – 3

R : 3 + 8 – 8 – 3

R : 3 + 3 – 6. RW

Repeat from ** till 5 trefoils made. Before starting 6^th trefoil, join the Ch to base of 1^st ring made. RW

R : 6 + 3 – 3

SR : 3 + 8 / 3 + 8. If you want to start the next round afresh, then make this a normal ring (3 + 8 – 8 + 3), tie & hide ends.

Round 1 complete.

TIP : Keep the joining picots Within the trefoil rings small (as indicated in pic), if you want the rings to broaden/stretch out. If the picots are long, the shape of the rings will be more spindle-like.

Round 2 :

Consists of chains, Josephine Rings (as thrown rings), very very small picots, & Slip & Roll joins 

(or Lock join if preferred). No Reverse Work, but Switch Shuttles to make the thrown ring (JR).

Using Sh1,

If one is continuing in one pass, make a mock picot & start :

JK 8

Ch : 1, vvsp, 12, S&R join to picot where 2 trefoils meet.

** Ch : 11, vvsp, 1, JR8, 1, vvsp, 11, S&R join

Ch : 12, vvsp, 1, JR8, 1, vvsp, 12, S&R join.

Continue around repeating from ** till 1^st JR reached. Join with Lock Join to base.

If desired, one can end here. It makes a nice flower shape with 6 petals !

Round 3

Consists of chains only, that are made up of Victorian sets/Node tatting, & padded tatting.

NOTE :

Node Tatting notation :

Each node (N) comprises of 4 half stitches (4N), repeated either 4 or 5 times (4N4 or 4N5). Thus

4N4 means : 4fhs, 4shs, 4fhs, 4shs.  (16 hs in total)

4N5 means : 4fhs, 4shs, 4fhs, 4shs, 4fhs. (20 hs in total)

For the pattern, you may need to add or reduce a couple of hs, depending on your own tension. The objective is for the node tatting chains to lie niched against/just adjacent to the previous round chains.

Joins : While I prefer Slope & Roll joins, it can be substituted with a Lock join.

Switch shuttles (if using 2 colours).

Using Sh2,

Make a lock join to the vvsp on the left of JK of previous round.

* Arch Ch: [2 ds, 2pds(2), vsp, 2pds(2), 2ds, S&R join or LJ to vvsp].*

**Ch : 4N5, S&R join to base

Ch : 4N4, S&R join to vvsp, repeat from * to * to make Arch

Ch : 4N4, S&R join to base, **

Repeat from ** to ** till you reach starting point.

Tie & cut. Hide ends. Or cut a longer length to make string/loop for hanging.

I ran out of Sh1 thread midways through the last round. So, if tatting in size 20, you can easily load/reload accordingly.

In case I have missed something in the pattern writing, 

please let me know through comment or email (on my profile). 

Your feedback is Always welcome :-)

happy tatting :-)

Happy Holidays & a Great 2015 !

Motif #1/II for 25 Motif Challenge

Click for details on Victorian Sets/ Node stitch

Click for discussion of & links for Padded Tatting