hybrid tatting

Pin It now!

my musings.....

This is somewhat of a personal deliberation, contemplation - musings if you may. I haven't done a thorough exploration. So jump in with your comments, input, counter, reference, etc.

We know that any tool we use for tatting lace has it's advantages and limitations. Ingenious tatters have found ways to use the strengths of each tool Together!

Hybrid Tatting is a tatting method that uses both needle and shuttle to work an element. It started with using them together in a split ring as seen in the image above. The term was coined by Wally Esther Sosa, for this method by Rosario Ruiz Moreno. They taught it at Palmetto Tat Days in 2017. Wally narrated the genesis -

I first came across this term and clever adaptation last year when Sharon Fawns blogged about it here. 

Recently, someone shared a video on facebook, that clearly showed how to do the split ring in hybrid tatting. It was dated 2015! It is by ChariFriv and can be accessed through this link - https://www.facebook.com/charifriv/videos/1602794246605932. Another example of how tatters independently came up with the same technique, method, or effect!

UPDATE (Nov 2022) - Wally tells me that ChariFriv is Rosario Ruiz Moreno! 

Anyway, this got me thinking. 

Should the term hybrid tatting be limited to the use of 2 tools for the same element or can it include the use in separate elements or rows within the same lace? 

A pattern that comes to mind is Frivolé's Rose and Crown motif. It has interlocking rings as the central round and several shuttle tatters use a needle to tat only this round.

And what about the SSSR (single shuttle split ring) where we use shuttle to tat 1st side and finger to tat the other?! 2 tools in same element.

Going further back in time, when the chain as we know it, had not been invented in tatting. Tatters left bare thread between rings or ring clusters. 

 

This bare thread was later covered in several different ways. Elgiva Nicholls calls this the 'False Chain' where the bare thread was covered in numerous ways using a tapestry, netting, or sewing needle (Tatting Technique and History, 1962). I am selecting only 2 where the stitch clearly imitates the half stitch(s) as we see in today's tatted lace.

Larks Head Knot (LHK) - 

  

The bare thread being covered by mock ds or LHK. The unflipped over-under movement for half-stitch is underway (left pic). The unflipped under-over half-stitch being made (right pic).

  

3 mock chains completed with picots.

Buttonhole Stitch - 

  

Those with a preference for embroidery might have used the buttonhole stitch to cover the bare thread.

Turn work (or work back to the start) and cover the bare thread with buttonhole stitches. These resemble a repetition of half-stitches as in a Josephine chain.

These are merely a small window into the use of 2 tools specifically for tatting the same element, separate elements or rows in the very same tatted lace. I deliberately omitted several other ways we use a crochet hook, a needle, or a cro-tatting tool, focusing only on how a false/mock stitch can be made with 2 tools such that once the lace is completed, the difference in tools is not apparent or discernible.

So, what are your thoughts? Where, and how would you use 2 tools to ease your tatting; and which 2 or more tools?

eternal circles and arches

Pin It now!

free tatting patterns

Renata and Justyna take turns coordinating craft series - posting project and tutorial links ranging from tatting, decoupage, sewing, crochet,  etc. They’ve already done many such series, and this time it’s back to “I Love Tatting” by Justyna. Every month there is a new sub-topic – plenty of time to learn new techniques or brush up on old ones. And people join in by posting their project and link during that month. It’s a great way to showcase the immense creativity and skills and be inspired by each other. Check out the details here.

This month (the first in “kocham frywolitkę”) the topic is Circles and Arches. Well, these are universal and ubiquitous ! I chose this simple necklace set with prominent arches and rings....

Noorjahan’s Rubies – a parure

free pattern for 4-piece jewelry set

Georgia is continually throwing challenges my way ;-P And I Love it. Makes me crawl out of my comfort zone. This time it was a necklace for Palmettos goody bag. I wanted a set with earrings, too, and at the last moment a ring was thrown in as a bonus pattern. 

This project took me over a month to present. The tatting is very quick, I assure you. But the designing, diagramming, writing, ooooof (am I That inefficient?) - the countless hours ! So I hope at least a few tatters will be willing to give it a go, if only to cheer me on ;-P

The one great thing that came off it all – a new beading method (Floating Beads).

 

Stephaine Wilson graciously and willingly accepted to test-tat the earring pattern. Her detailed notes, feedback, and input helped tremendously !

I ran out of the large teardrops, and had to snip them off my trial pieces. The earring on the left has longer chain arches. Wanted to show this version as well, though we rejected it (DH had a say in many of the decisions - he was thrilled and quite enamored by the whole tatted jewelry scenario!)

Do you recognize this necklace pattern? Yes, it’s the vintage edging (#7 from Needleart) converted into a necklace. Barely any changes were required!

All the other pieces are based off it to make a set – a parure (a term Georgia introduced me to!).

When it came to naming the piece, Georgia suggested something ethnic. I immediately recalled wanting to design a ruby pendant after reading “The Feast of Roses” by Indu Sundaresan. There is not much literature on this 16^th century empress, but the author has brought her to life. Nothing to it but Noorjahan’s Rubies !

My intention was to use this single large oval bead in the center of the necklace, making the centre large, with more tatted chains around. But it looked too dull there, hence tatsmithed around a ring ! It can also be wrapped around a pin for brooch.

And my first time with wire bending ! The ring was a long wire with a loop at one end. I put the straight end through this loop, and then bent it into a similar loop. The ring can now fit any finger. 

The ring and earrings patterns are shared and explained in this Bellaonline article.

The bracelet was tatted while the Tat Days conference was on, hence not a part of the goody bag. This piece has 2 extra 'flowers' - I didn't realise that the tatting would stretch once it was completed and blocked. In fact it Needs to be stretched before blocking. With the extra repeats, it can be worn as a choker !

I’d like to share the design process (what’ll I do with all the pics I took, all the trials I did?!), but in a future post. There’s always a back story with many by-lanes with learning at each step.

I tried to keep beads at a minimum wanting the circles and arches in tatting to show. But I certainly would like to make this in gold thread – it would be truly Indian then. Everyone has heard of the Taj Mahal with it's elegant domes and arches. But it was Noorjahan who first had a tomb built for her father, which later inspired the Taj.

Symbolism –

Black thread - veil/shadows behind which a woman was expected to remain.
(however,  I wish I could tat it in gold -- it would really bring out the ruby reds. )

Rubies – for the ruby gifted to her by her husband when he named Mehrunissa “Light of the Universe - Noorjahan” !

Teardrops – for the blood and tears, the resistance and intrigue, yet dignity under pressure.

Filigree bead cap – reminds me of the intricately beautiful carvings & inlay work by craftsmen at the time.

Diamond spacers & Gold beads – besides prosperity, these sparkling jewels reveal Noorjahan’s brilliance and strength shining through.

Many many thanks, Georgia and Stephanie ! ((((hugs))))

Download Pattern PDFs here - 

1. Noorjahan's Rubies - EARRINGS – diagrams only pdf,

2. Noorjahan's Rubies - NECKLACE – diagrams only pdf ,

3. Noorjhan's Rubies - RING/Brooch – diagrams only pdf

4. Noorjahan's Rubies - a parure. Complete 4-PIECE PATTERN including BRACELET, written instructions, notations and diagrams pdf.

hope you enjoy tatting a piece of this jewelry …

ties of friendship

Pin It now!

We ‘met’ in Georgia’s online class. Anita has been a huge supporter and her emails are always so sweet and encouraging! She is so talented – many will remember her corn harvest basket and her miniature tatted baby items.  

This year she was teaching a class at Tat Days and imagine my immense surprise and pleasure when I got the same pattern in my inbox almost as soon as the event ended! The pattern will be available on the Palmetto’s CD shortly. I am so touched by her thoughtfulness and generosity and treasure her friendship.

Doctor Who inspired

Red Bow Tie Tatted Necklace

Anita Barry

A 3D bow tie meant to be a necklace with jump rings and chain attached. I intended to sew it on to a hairband; instead a satin ribbon was passed through the bead to use for wrapping a gift. It's theirs to decide how to use the bow :-)

The triangular motif is repeated 4 times – 2 on either side of the bead, folded back on itself, to create this bow tie. Smart – and interesting how ‘easy’ it is to use flat motifs to create a 3D lace.

An alligator join midway through a ring was new to me - stopped me in my tracks! 

But it’s pretty simple – move the ring thread around/behind keeping the core/shuttle thread in front thus 'capturing' the picot and continue, making certain that thread still slides freely. 

Use of padding only one half of a stitch is clever (Half Double Double Stitch - HDD)! It adds stiffness to the tatting to hold shape, without making it bulky ! 

HDD is merely one form of a variable/unequal padded double stitch (pds).

According to the notation we proposed, 

a HDD would be pds(0,1) ie. regular first half stitch (0 or no wrap), 1 wrap on second half stitch. 

And if one wanted to make 10 such HDD, we would write it as 10pds(0,1).

pds encompasses all the various terms for padding the stitch.

Pattern called for a ½ inch bead. This pearl bead is the only one in my stash. However, one can use any sized bead, I realized only later. A smaller bead, more importantly with a smaller hole would keep the 2 sides from 'flopping'. Or perhaps I didn't snug the bead/tatting tightly enough. As a necklace, it wouldn't matter, though. 

I used size 20 Anchor although the pattern calls for a size 10 thread since I’ve come to realize that the former is pretty close to Lizbeth 10. My bow measures 2”x4” - almost similar to Anita’s. 

Since it is inspired by Dr Who, I went with maroon. Looking back, I really should’ve chosen a lighter colour to bring out the beautiful pattern. Pink, to go with the Barbie story book inside ? ;-P

Many many thanks, Anita :-)

I enjoyed tatting it tremendously & am sure the recipient will like & use it too.

pretending we're there

Pin It now!

So Vicki suggested we pretend we’re at the ongoing Palmetto Tat Days and tat anything from their previous events while eating chocolate today.

Hmm, I've switched from chocolates to Indian sweets for last several months and only have mishti doi (a Bengali version of thick sweetened fermented yogurt) in the fridge. I've already dipped into a spoonful and will be licking my bowl clean after dinner ;-P 
No Palmetto's T-shirt, but wore my black-laced kaftan. 

As for what to tat – I chose to design and work on a bracelet - 

Noorjahan’s Rubies - Bracelet

For the goody bag (thanks, Georgia J) this year I had sent in patterns for a 3-piece jewellery set – all about it in a future post. This bracelet is also derived from the same pattern. 

And I was pleasantly surprised to receive a lovely email straight from the event last evening froma very special friend! Feels like I'm practically there attending right at this moment ;-P

Very quick to tat up. The foundation row was completed last evening. 

Worked the rest today with plenty of time to block (though still damp).

 

Tatted continuously in one pass, 2 shuttles CTM, about 10 yards

It does ruffle when working the outer rows, but lays flat after some damp finger-blocking. 

The 10 repeats should be whittled down to 9 or 8 because it stretches when blocking. 

Instead of 7", it is now 8" long. 2 cms wide. 

This can easily work as a choker instead of bracelet. 

I sewed in the danglers later using finer thread.

I'll be sharing all 4 patterns together - necklace, earrings, ring, bracelet along with the rationale behind name and colours. I update with a link here as well.


Despite having a lot to share I have been goofing off for the last few days – resting my arm and eyes, avoiding the desktop (except once to catch up on my blog-hopping) after weeks of marathon sessions writing up presentations & pictorials. Even tatting was at a bare minimum. So Vicki's proposal stirred me up and I'm back in full force :-D And with beads, too, despite what I felt a couple of days back!

Come join in ... details on Vicki's blog