first doily pattern

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Repetition Doily / Snood

pattern pdf (click to download)
Please scroll down for an Update

Remember the doily/snood I was trying to design out of a mistake? Well, it’s all done, including the pattern writing! In size 40 Anchor, it measures 7 inches in diameter.

 

So this was where it all started, and when last posted, with one post in between. 

 

Continuing the design story …. I completed the final round with long twisted picots instead of simple double picots. I like how they arch and are sturdy, giving a sense of finality.

I wanted a relatively open center, hence tried a basic spirographic filling – like in string art. A quick trial above looked fine, and I was going to stabilize the long threads with another single round of beige in the center. I had even tacked the doily on fabric in an embroidery hoop! After several days I snipped it off..... 

 

… and this was the result ! A star is born ;-D

I overcame the odd number in previous round (15) by skipping 2 picots and joining to every 3^rd picot, thus resulting in the star shape.

 

But those free picots bothered me and I snipped off both central rounds replacing those 2 picots with a long double picot parallel to the star curves! 

Double picots also follow the thematic repetition of outer brown rounds. Star remained the same.

Tadaa !!!

Click to download Repetition Doily pattern.

UPDATE (July 2019): This doily has long measured picots which are Functional. The pattern gives picot sizes for Anchor size 40, but what if one wants to use a different thread size?

I worked a short chain with same thread and found that a 7mm picot is equal to the width of 7 double stitches! And so on. Easy to remember and convert.

Just substitute 1mm tall picot with 1ds width.

For how to measure – see IV-B on page 5 of Measuring the Picot.

While picots are normal throughout, the long picots differ in length in each round and a picot gauge is required. I have included the gauge requirement for each round in the pattern.

Each round in this doily is worked separately with shuttle and ball and easy elements. Writing/presenting the pattern was a tough ask! It took me days and days to simplify it as best as possible since the working sequence of the 9 rounds is not a regular order from small to large or in to out.

Jane McLellan kindly and quickly ran her eye through the final presentation with valuable feedback. She is my reliable go-to "glazometer" (((Thank You)))! 

I hope you enjoy the pattern. It is my first complete doily pattern that I have completed and written. My first - Aspiration Doily still awaits that day ;-D 

a wee bit bold

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…ummm, perhaps? perhaps not.

Next leg of the design journey from mistaken round to snood-in-the-making which I now think can hold it’s own as a doily.

Continuing from where I left off last -

The outermost beige round ended with 45 repeats. That’s 15 more than the 30 in central beige round. And it measures about 6¾” in Anchor size 40.

The main dilemma was connecting it to the previous round. 

I set 2 guidelines –

1. it should be in brown ;

2. it should be fairly open and airy, yet durable.

That’s when I remembered this post by Lilas Lace – those intertwined/interlaced double picots had caught my eye. She herself has since used the effect in her own doily here.

6. Made the shorter brown round with 30 repeats. All chains.

Ch1  : 5 lp (8mm) 5 lp 5, lock join

Ch2  : [ 5 + 5 lp 5, lj ] x28

Ch30: 5 + 5 + 5, lj

The long picots (lp) are 8mm tall.

7. That round went fairly easily, but designing the next to fit in nicely took a lot of trials. I had 15 extra points to take care of!

This pic (sorry about the quality - it was taken with my tablet) shows the 1^st and 3^rd trials; the 2^nd trial has already been snipped off since it didn't work at all.

This round is a mix of rings and chains.

Ring: [ 7 + 7. rw

Ch   : 5 lp (1cm) 7, lj ,

         7 + (interlaced) 5 lp 7, lj,

         7 + (interlaced) 5. rw ] x15

The long picots (lp) are 1cm tall.

I like how it finally turned out.

Meanwhile I have completed the final outermost round, but will share only after filling in the center.

It was while answering Emily’s comment that I finally hit on the name – Repetition Doily/snood. It is a reminder to the original Repetition Mat (in 'Mastering Tatting') - the round which ended up in the center later. It is also a reference to the alternately  repeating rounds of clovers v/s chains. This is a common theme of Lyndsay Rogers' book where the objective is to take the tatter through simple to complex using simple techniques. 
All rounds in this doily, too, can be worked with one shuttle and ball,  except for the construction sequence. 

Now my question is –

Considering the numerous additions I’ve made, can I share the stitch count for Lyndsay’s round as well?

a floral path

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Round 7 of the ‘Pikotek’ or Doily #10 is now completed and sent to Agnieszka.

In Anchor size 40, it now measures 8½ inches at its widest. 

This gives an idea of how deeply set these 1 inch flowers are since round 6 was 8” across.

These little flowers are a joy to tat!!! I can easily finish 3 in just one evening, 

including sewing in tails.

Yet other activities slowed down this round, but not the pleasure.

And in order to reduce the pink dominance, the centers are made in cream.

I dallied whether to use them alternately with all-pink flowers (as in above pic), 

but the 2-colour ruled. 

Which meant I had to cut out and tat 2 extra but who’s complaining! 

See the pic below for comparison.

TIP : If the entire pattern was available, I would've worked each flower separately, 

and joined to the floating ring while working round 6 (as I had done here).
I did a quick rolling pin block without pulling out/shaping every double picot...will do it at final stage. 

3 more rounds to go, but they are mostly chains, so should tat up quickly.

While I have a couple of ideas on where I'd like the colours to go, 

it's up to the shuttles to behave themselves!

Previous Rounds :

Rounds 1 & 2 ; Round 3 ; Round 4 ; Round 5 ; Round 6

shuttles are like pet cats – they rule!

happy tatting always J

fun reflection

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It is always relaxing to sit back and tat some one else’s pattern. And these florets are really cute and quick to work up.

Doily #10   Round 4

Agnieszka Gawron (Frywolaga)

fun picot / zabawa "pikotek"

This is a repeat of the very 1st round where I used double picots. I didn’t elaborate earlier, so here’s how I did each –

Working with size 40, I pull out a 20cms long tail from the shuttle for the short chains. I used the tail to finger-tat reverse (unflipped) stitch.

Also, I like the rings a bit plump. Hence joining picots are very very tiny, thus ‘stretching’ the rings.

The double picot is 7mm high when gauge is perpendicular to core thread.

The doily measures 11.5 cms at this stage. In real it looks very pretty and complete.

I’m thinking of adding a 3^rd colour for the next round.

Oh my, Agnieszka is so quick! I barely hit send and the next round is in my inbox!

She has a very systematic and clean presentation in 2 languages. She sends me the English version, obviously. The diagram for each round shows the sequence as well as the stitch count.

I’m beginning to see a few more bloggers participating. It’s great that we can work at our own pace. 

relax and enjoy – the tatting mantra !

Related posts

Rounds 1 & 2 ; Round 3 

a star is born

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Another new pattern for the, ummm, Medallion Series …

Penta Fleur medallion

click here to download pdf

This was made over a week back. Nothing much to write here. I wanted to throw off the central ring from a chain and this pattern was the result of that quest. It is tatted in one pass.

I do like the way the long/double picot completes a ‘petal’ and a 5-petalled flower emerges from the confines of a pentagonal star. Based on this I decided on the name and when I Googled it, found that Pentas or penta fleur really is a flower ! Also called Egyptian Star. How opportune is that! Except that I'd already completed it in green otherwise perhaps a red or pink would be more appropriate.

I used Anchor size 20 but we know that it is thicker than Lizbeth 20.

Measures approx 6.5 cms at the broadest points.

Tats up real quick but a picot gauge is required for the long picot. I used a 3/8” gauge held vertically ie. perpendicular to the core thread.

The first trial in tinted blue. Not all chains of same length; other minor tweaks also went on.

Incidentally, while making this, if I had joined the chains differently I get another pattern. I’m really eager to see if the idea works!

This is a diagram-only presentation. In case of any difficulty, you know where I’ll be ;-D

happy tatting always !

Am I the right person?

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Especially where picots on tatted lace are concerned?

I generally go for minimum decorative picots, preferring clean lines that show the design clearly. Not that I don't admire the lacy, airy effect of picots.

A couple of weeks back Agnieszka (Frywolaga) invited her readers to a fun picot challenge.

She usually makes 2 versions of her beautiful patterns – one with and other without decorative picots. This time she shared a picture of her Doily #10 without free picots and those interested need to put in picots where they wish. She sends out instructions for the next round when the previous is finished.

When I first set eyes on her doily I loved the simple lines and didn’t want to muck or clutter it up with picots (sorry, dear picot-ists, no offence ;-D). But when I received the 1^st round pattern, I had to think slightly out of the box and came up with the following …

Here are my first 2 rounds worked in Anchor size 40 …

I used a double picot in round 1 enhancing the floral effect.

Measures 2.5cms

She shares her suggestion here. 

Dot picots in the 2^nd round.

Measures just over 5cms

I hope to repeat both type of picots in later rounds.

It really is fun! And knowing the complete design, it becomes easier to plan ahead. Just hope I do a good enough job while enjoying the journey. If you wish to join in, the links above provide all the information.

What I did muck up, though, was this simple pattern - the Onion Ring Magic Square #2. I had no problem following the pattern or direction, yet stumbled on simple joins! Thrice rings are attached incorrectly. Noticed only in the picture when the negative space seemed wonky. 

Since I wanted only the one square, most joining picots in outer chains were discarded. (Next time I might even discard the free picots on inner rings ;-P)

Onion rings were tatted with same shuttle. Inner ring from backside, turn work, outer ring from frontside. Outer ring is looped from Behind the inner ring as I had done for the marigolds here.. I found it much quicker to work especially when not using 2 colours. This is the onion ring join used - very effective.

with or without picots, tatting is always lacy fun J

trials and jubilation !

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Trials can cause tribulation; perseverance & practice can turn those trials into jubilation !

Ikuta’s Picots

When Georgia posted the May 2nd class material online, I immediately wanted to try out the 3rd Method of Ikuta’s Picots. These are from Mituko Ikuta’s book “Shuttle Lace - Tatting & Bead Tatting 3” published in the late 1990s. 

The 3rd method has a beautiful overlapping & interweaving of picots along the edge. But it took me over an hour of trials & tribulations to figure out how ! That called for some jubilation.

We have a review class this Monday, based on the pictorial I prepared. As usual, once I start, it is difficult to stop – from the main road, diverging on to alternate paths & by-lanes. Well, one needn’t make the entire journey; or one can make it at one’s convenience. The main pictorial is just about 3 pages, rest includes the by-lanes. 

Here is my pdf link for free download : Ikuta Picot Method 3 Pictorial .

Ninetta shared a couple of pics and a beautiful butterfly using these picots (also included in the pdf). She will be sharing the pattern soon – keep an eye out :-)

Ikuta’s Picots – Method 3 Pictorial

1. The pictorial is based on this pattern here :  This is a 6-ring pattern without any joins.

Pattern for each ring : 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3 – 3

(blue numbers indicate ring segments & SH1 picots; pink indicate chain segments & SH2 picots)

2. Requires 2 shuttles.
3. Effect is more visible when using 2 colours.
4. The tatting is broken into alternating segments as seen in the 2 colours that show up :

ring segment worked with main shuttle as a normal ring , and

chain segment worked with 2 shuttles as a chain.

5. The chain segment can be worked either as normal Double Stitches ( Sec I of pdf ) or by using Reverse Stitch (unflipped/wrapped stitches) but ensuring that the caps align with the previous segment ( Sec II p4).
   
6. One can start (& end) by hiding the tails in different ways, as depicted in Sec III pages 5 & 6.
7. The need for 2 shuttles arises because 2^nd shuttle has to be posted through the ring in order to achieve interwoven picots. These picots can be interwoven either Under-Over or Over-Under based on their visible overlap. The former are covered in Sec I & II ; the latter are explained in Sec IV on p7.
8. In the pattern, the 2^nd shuttle thread can perform the function of joining adjacent rings (as seen between rings in lead pic) or become a decorative bridging ‘faux picot’ (Sec IV p7). This faux picot has been used to excellent advantage by Ninetta as antennae for the butterfly !
9. An easier spin-off is the “Layered” picot (Sec V p8). By keeping 2^nd shuttle to the left at all times, the picots formed do not intertwine, but do overlap in a layered effect. One does not need to post the shuttle in this formation.
10. I haven’t tried it at the time of making the pdf,  but these picots can be tatted on a chain too. Scroll down for details & sampler. 

There has been a suggestion that the process of tatting Ikuta Picots on a ring is the same as the Shuttle Brothers’ Alternate Thread Ring (ATR or AT Ring) from their 2003 book - "Tatting Alternate Threads". 
I later came across Gina Butler’s video inspired by the ATR technique. The way she wraps the threads is same/similar to what I figured out. 
As for the picots themselves, from my internet search, Ikuta’s picots overlap differently from those of the ATR. I do not have any of the books, so cannot make a conclusive statement. Hopefully it will be discussed in class.
I tend to agree with Nina Libin that if one knows the AT tatting method, then making these picots is a simple variation of effect rather than technique. I have no idea of the process Ikuta herself followed.
Some stunning effects can be created by stringing along beads !!! Nina shared pics of her Beanile pieces using ATR technique and probably Ikuta’s picots. 

The same interwoven picots effect is possible on a chain. Here is my quick trial. It first reminded me of Jane Eborall's Double Chain ( sampler #27 here ) because 3 threads are needed. However, they are different. More about that in some future post.

Here's how to get the method 3 effect on a chain :
Use at least 1 shuttle which acts as the core thread (red in pic) throughout. 2 more auxiliary threads are required (yellow & green in pic) which make the alternating double stitch segments. Leave sufficient length of picot space before starting each segment. Both types of overlap (under-over & over-under) are possible by bringing the necessary auxiliary thread forward. It is very quick to tat up & can make pretty braids, outlines, decorative elements, etc. 

UPDATE : For beginners,  it may be a good idea to start with the picots on a chain ; then try the 'layered' effect, before moving on to the actual Method 3 with interwoven picots.

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Method 2 of Ikuta’s Picots 

This is also very interesting, especially if one adds beads to the long picots, or one interweaves them. It is something I had tried a couple of years back, inspired by an image, not knowing the name of the picot then. . These are simple long picots that are joined to the adjacent ring. We know them as Double Picots when they are joined back to the same ring. 

My practice piece of 2014 varies from the original image in the use of 2 colours to highlight the overlap between picots. Hmmm, I now notice that these have an over-under overlap ! 

The lesson shared goes a few steps further : There are 4 long picots in each ring, 2 of which are joined to the adjacent ring, creating a lot of overlap. I had to abort it, though, because the stated picot length of 1" (or 2" when open) turned out to be too short for the effect to show, as can be seen in the collage. 

Secondly, the instructions said to join picots 1 & 3 of each ring to 1st & 3rd positions in next ring. However the tatted model shows that picot 1 of ring 1 is joined to 2nd picot position of ring 2; and 3rd of ring 1 to 4th of ring 2. 
I chose to follow the image, but added an interweave. But another trial with at least a 1.5 to 2" long picots will show the effects.
Can't celebrate yet; just happy to be on the right track ....

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And before I leave the topic of picots, here's a reminder of my Double Daisy Flowers - love the picot effect here !

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Ninetta's Bracelets Capriccio 

I’m sure you remember my tribulation during Ninetta’s small Curled Rings trials here. I needed to redeem myself as well as gain confidence that indeed I have understood it. Hence here is another sampler I tatted that includes 3 versions of her Bracelet Capriccio. Her videos were a great help ! All her videos can be accessed on Georgia Seitz's Online Advanced Class Videos 

Still not there, but I do think I can celebrate a bit ... the tatting went very quickly this time, with minor mistakes.

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And the latest from this amazing designer : Mediterranean Tatting Diet ! A tat-along bookmark !! I had time to tat only one strawberry in size 40 thread. The calyx is in shaded silk thread, doubled up.

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Many thanks to all the wonderful tatters named in this post !

happy tatting :-)

Related Posts :  Daisy Picot flowers

trials and tribulations

Chains in Shuttle Tatting