my round 3

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I started and finished tatting the 3rd round of my DAL 2026 Challenge yesterday morning. Gave it a simple damp, rolling pin block in the evening and took pics at night. Today I started to prepare a presentation for the pattern (as a PDF file) and finished diagramming and also notating and uploading the pics in this post. But writing the blog post could only be accomplished now at night. Happy to present my swirling type of motif...

In Anchor and Red Rose size 20, the final motif is a bit more than 8cms across, tip to tip.

While I worked it in 3 separate rounds, it can be worked continuously with split rings and a split chain.

 For a long time I couldn't get my head into designing mode for the DAL 2026 challenge. Ruth Perry had suggested adding the inner motif and then filing up the space between them. I decided to give it a go.

Ugh, I didn't like my working one bit! Snipped it off and sketched the base motif on grid paper and tried out a simple round.

Mind you, there is two models where these rosettes have been used very effectively! So the fault lies in me.

I tend to sketch with a light hand which is why this is the best I could achieve in a photograph.

I laid the base motif on the grid, aligned it such that the center point was on a point on the paper, etc. Then I made points with the pencil through the picots - notice dark dots? Then I roughly drew the rosette and scroll. Thus this sketch was to scale and it was easy to draw the 3rd round and guestimate the size of the rings, etc.

 

Well, the chains arr way more curved than in the diagram but I kind of like it this way, too. I also experimented with the 2nd repeat, joining the large ring to the previous chain, but didn't like it. 

The small rings were supposed to be in line with the large rings. This would happen if there were stabilising picot(s) - joining to the large ring and to the chain. 

Again. I took the lazy way out and opted to see what would happen.

I like the slight angle! I think it adds to the sense of movement that the chains created. Which is why I didn't even try to block them straight. Au contraire ;-P

I hope to be able to share the Google doc with all participants and their models soon. Waiting for patterns to come in and do some of my own cleaning up. By the way, I am now officially 16th on the list of participants ;-P 

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A confession.

Are you wondering about the pair of motifs below? Hmm. I had made a mistake!

The one on the left is the original motif which I put in the challenge post - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/08/time-to-play-again.html 

However, it was only when I sat down to design the 3rd round and referred to the post and diagram did I realise that one count was incorrect! The rings in round 2 were 8+8, not 6+6! 

But nobody complained about cupping, etc. So, instead of confusing issues at this late date, I tatted another following the diagram just like everybody else.

As you can see, this one on the right is a more defined square. And it seems to have worked structurally too. 

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For previous design-alongs - 

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/search?q=DAL 

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/search?q=design-along

lollygagging or not

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Whatever it is, I'm sure happy to pause and share this slightly mixed bag of fun and possibilities! Let's start with the Tatted Fringe and adaptations and practice pattern I shared in my last two posts.

Yesterday Elisabeth Dobler wrote to me and sent me some photos which I share here with her kind permission. And this is what she says - 

Today our tatting group met again and I showed them the new technique of Corina Meyfeldt and you. It was so funny - we had so much fun! Some members of my group were so creative and tried new ways to apply this new technique. Initially I wanted to teach them the various possibilities of the captured picot but we didn't have enough time - we tatted 3 hours only the new technique! 

Thank you very much for sharing this new skills!

From the top and the side!

Oh the possibilities of colour, size, and form!

She and her group are so creative! Soon I will share her beautiful application of the captured picots.

https://occhi-freunde-oberschwaben.de/  ; https://www.instagram.com/occhi_freunde_oberschwaben/

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Almost simultaneously I received this message from Stephanie Wilson -

I like your fringed star. The colors are pretty and I don’t mind ‘messy’ fringe. It looks nice to me.

Got me thinking – do you think we could do something similar using the daisy picot technique? Long picots *between* the daisy picot stitches, then cut them after we’re finished? I don’t have time to try it now, but it sounds like it would work….in my head, at least.

And the answer is yes! sorry I didn't get time to try it out, but this is the only caveat to keep in mind - if we attach the fringe to the core thread, it will take up space like any stitch. Hence if a pattern is not written with a fringe in mind, one must take care to adjust the total stitches accordingly. Of course, this can be countered by adding the fringe to the picot thread, and if one wants the fringe facing down/inwards, then tat a downward or inward facing picot on which you attach the fringe!

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I didn't mention it in my last post, but I had used the spot fringe as thorns in the tiny Thorny Wreath from 2015. (https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2015/12/thorny-wreath-pattern.html)

And this Christmas Troll (Ruth Perry's pattern) where I frayed the picots for an afro, could well have had additional fringe to give it a denser style (https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2016/12/a-new-look-or.html)

And of course, the recent Fringe Star practice pattern and ideas was shared in the last post.

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Unrelated, but I wanted to update, hence adding it here. While looking for something in my choco-tatting boxes one leaf fell out which I noticed after the box was kept back.It was the same leaf I'd wanted to tat for the pumpkin, but didn't have time. Serendipitous! Of course I simply tied and whip stitches the tails to hide them and voila it looks kind of complete now. This is the E25 Extract Me Pumpkin by Julie Myers with my little tds variation and the addition of E25 palm leaf. (details - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/08/veg-patch-game.html ; https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/09/palm-or-plant-help.html

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Related Posts - 

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2015/12/fringe-benefits.html

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/08/on-fringes.html

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2024/08/starburst-fringe.html

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2022/10/no-truncation.html

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Many thanks to all for sharing your joy, thoughts, and ideas ladies! It's always satisfying to see interest being generated and tatters at play.

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all tagged and bound

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 I was a good homemaker/tatter this weekend! Continuing with my taming the silk spools idea, I tackled my size 20 stash!

See, all neatly bound and tagged!

There is one drawback to this system. I generally wind leftover thread back on the ball. And sometimes I use these lengths for experimentation, practice, or learning. The paper sleeve keeps them tucked away and hidden now.

The advantage, though, is that the tag is so easy to cut and tape back, especially now that it is all organised.

And this time I wrote down the shade number. I will no longer have to peer inside with a booklight to read the tag inside.

Ruth Perry shared her method - she slits the empty plastic tube from a used ball of thread and inserts a new ball into it - it acts like a broad clasp or bracelet! 

Unlike Lizbeth, these threads are wound over cardboard tubes which I sometimes use for leftover thread. While it will work, I didn't have the numbers required, plus being thicker, they'd take up way more space than the paper sleeves I used.

Since the majority of the balls are of Anchor, I didn't need to write that down, except on the few Red Heart balls.

Here they are, back in their box. I used to stack each ball separately, till the numbers surged and the entire pile would get disturbed when trying to reach a colour at the bottom! So I bagged shades of same colour together, in those potato mesh bags. Now I merely pull out the entire bag of, say, blue/purple, and choose the ball I need. 

This is the largest container that hubby had bought extra knowing my penchant for stocking ;-P A bit of size comparison with the Pony shuttle on top.

I completed this mundane task while watching a movie each on Saturday & Sunday ;-D This really needed to be done since the mercerized cotton tends to unravel unlike perle cottons, and I feel happily satisfied.

for want of a needle

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 a load was bought!

See that little fella on bottom right? Yup, that's the reason this basket is overflowing. But who's complaining?!

My size 24 & 26 tapestry needles were down to 1 or 2. I use these for hiding ends in finer threads and also for beading.

As long as I was ordering the needle set, might as well add a few more items to my basket. This is called efficiency ;-P

All from my trusted online store - Pony Craft, and trusted brands Anchor & Pony. (no affiliation, simply an endorsement from a very satisfied customer for decades). 

Even though some items were 'sold out' or not listed, I enquired and they filled my order splendidly!

The jumble includes pearl crochet cotton size 8, mercerised size 40 & size 20, and knitting cotton size 10. So far I had knitting cotton only in cream which I used for tutorials. The contrast colourways I used were not of same thickness. Now I have 3 balls in contrasting colours, so watch out ;-P

This is the same wicker basket for which I want to tat a square mat. Remember Ruth Perry's bookmark that I wanted to expand into a square? Can't say when I'll get back to that project. I decided to discard that colour and have chosen a different palette for it. 

Doing the happy dance, but also secretly wondering Where I'll store all these (there's a lot of eye-rolling from you-know-who ;-P). And unfortunately they didn't have tapestry needles. These are coloured eye Chenille needles, but I think they will work fine. Will keep an eye out for the tapestry set, LOL.

one is here

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Remember this? Well, the Summer 2020 IOLI issue has arrived and I am so excited to hold the magazine in my hand! The previous (Spring) issue is obviously lost, though editor-in-chief Prabha has generously assured me they will send in another copy. 

Hubby was so excited to see the article, co-authored by my prodding pardner, Anita Barry, that he has now urged me to reveal my real name and use/include it in future. So, meet Meenakshi Jain, popularly known in the tatting community as muskaan ;-)  Most correspondents already know my name and Georgia Seitz gave me one of the best compliments when I told her the meaning of this Sanskrit term,  'eyes shaped like a fish'. She said, I was 'meant to tat! Rings are often called oeillets and shuttle is called fish (because of it's shape) in certain languages.'

Back to the publication. It is the last article in the bulletin, and the only exclusively tatting article. But there are so many interesting articles to go through and the images have already inspired me to convert those laces into tatting patterns!

Bookmark adapted into a Mat - WIP

One of the distractions a couple of weeks back was test-tatting a bookmark pattern for Ruth Perry. I liked the central round rings made with balanced double stitches and decided to work it as a square mat instead. It is still a work in progress and can be worked in one pass - several magic pathways are possible! However, I ran out of threads and have shifted attention to completing the hanky edging.

In Anchor size 20, this is just over 7" long. The thread is probably 20 years old and considering the deceptively large amount used up in just this, it might be sufficient to complete the entire mat. Have some ideas in mind to introduce another colour...

This is a multi-purpose pattern. Work it as a single square motif or a beautiful bracelet with ribbon woven through the rings! Or with multiple rows, as a mat! 

Download Bookmark-8-2020 pattern here. She has several more patterns, including a beautiful new Celtic Knot Tatted Square, that I am resisting for now.

locked in a rope

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Part 3 - final post of the chain maille pictorials, based on Ninetta Caruso's posts. You can find my previous pictorials here - Part 1 ; Part 2.

So far, we have seen 3 methods/variations (and more listed) of the Interlocking Split Rings that create a 3D chain maille effect. The chain or braid so made, whether with 1, 2, or 4 shuttles, remains linear with clearly distinguishable rings. Ninetta has cleverly twisted the chain into a rope that spirals on itself! Let's see how ....

D. Interlocking Split Rings - Rope Chain

ref : Ninetta Caruso's gold rope chain pictorial

(interlocking split rings - chain maille variation of Kathy Niklewicz's method)

The only difference from the pictorial shared in Part 2 (C), is that instead of pulling a loop through the previous ring, in order to make the next ring, the loop is pulled through the last TWO rings. This collapses the rings, bringing them closer and also creates a gradual twist.

Red is shuttle 1 with cream thread ; yellow is shuttle 2 with variegated thread.

All split rings are 10/10 (since the thread is thick)

 

D-1 : 3 interlocking split rings have been made as in C here. Insert hook from the back through previous 2 rings....

D-2 : ... and hook the shuttle 1 thread ...

 

D-3 : ... pulling it to the back.

D-4 : Pull the loop long enough to wrap around the hand to make the next split ring.

 

D-5 : As in previous pictorial, leave some bare thread before starting the 1st side. 10ds made. Ensure shuttle2 thread is inside the loop.

D-6 : Leave bare thread and work the 10 unflipped stitches for 2nd side.

NOTE : I was so focused on the steps and photographing every detail, that I missed the larger picture! Leave More bare thread I  order for each ring to twist more into a rope-like weave.

 

D-7 : Close ring.

D-8 : Repeat steps to work as many interlocked split rings as desired. As the rope grows longer, it starts to twist - hence the term rope chain. The rope looks superb from the side!

D-9 : This is how the rope looks from the shuttle 1 side.

E. Interlocking Split Rings - Beaded Rope Chain  

ref : Ninetta's Rope Chain bracelet in black and silver with red beads

A short pictorial that follows the previous (D), but with a bead added before each ring. Of course, more seed beads can be added along the edges, etc.

 

E-1 : String beads on shuttle 1.

E-2 : Before starting 2nd ring, move bead to the base. In image, a bead is moved before starting 3rd ring. Insert hook through 2nd ring to pull back a loop for the 3rd ring. These will form a chain maille as in Part 2 (C).

 

E-3 : 3rd ring made. Now we start the rope chain variation. Move bead to base of previous ring (not shown in pic), insert hook through rings 3 AND 2 ...

E-4 : and pull back the loop for 4th ring. 

TIP : Try to be consistent in the position of the threads throughout. I kept the bare thread and loop 'behind' the bead always.

 

E-5 : 4th ring complete and bead brought forward before next ring. Notice how the rings are now very close together, with greater overlap. The chain maille interlocking effect seems to get lost.

E-6 : Insert hook through rings 4 AND 3 to pull back loop for next ring.

 

E-7 : Repeat steps from E-3 to desired length.

E-8 : As seen from the side.

This rope can be quite addictive! I stopped only on running out of thread. Notice the twist?

To finish, beads are strung through the leftover tails, ending with a 6-bead ring/flower, and hiding the ends within a few beads. Add a clasp to the starting ring for a bracelet or a necklace.

There is a tendency for a horizontal thread to show up across the side of each ring. It could be the shuttle1 thread across the 1st side of ring, or shuttle2 thread across the 2nd side (as in my first trials in previous post). 

TIP : To Avoid Visible Bare Thread : By keeping the bare thread at the start of each side of split ring short, this horizontal bar can be avoided. While the bare thread is important to create a play and twist, keeping it as short as possible eliminates its visibility.

Ninetta's TIP : Another possible way is if we use 4 shuttles instead of 2, as in Ruth Perry's models. Or one can use a thread colour and size where it is not immediately visible.

This is it for the present, although I will some day come back to try out other methods (see complete listing here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/p/tatting-resources.html), as well as a couple of project ideas I have applying these effects. I did intend to tat with metallic, but time is at a premium and I need to get back to completing the hanky edging as the deadline quickly approaches.

Longtime readers of my blog may have noticed that I rarely create pictorials of something that is already in public domain, preferring to cite links, unless I have something different or something more to offer. Or, as in this case, when a tatter specifically requests. Hence I cannot thank Ninetta enough for her gracious permission to upload these pictorials, and her willingness to provide valuable feedback and insight. 

And by extension, my thanks to all tatters, teachers, designers mentioned in these 3 posts, who were instrumental in adding a valuable link to our ever-growing Tatting chain!