first leg of tatting adventure

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Sometimes one stumbles upon an old, neglected blog and their blog list takes you to contemporary blogs. Always fun scrolling through them!

Over a year back I came across Natalie Rogers’ Tat Your Own Adventure and thought it was a brilliant and fun designing idea! I saved it to try out privately but guess what, she has started a new round on facebook! Of course, I am participating, and this is my first motif - 

I’ve never played poker, but I do believe I’ve been dealt a Superb hand! (Should I take it up professionally? ;-p).

The 2nd card with a ‘?’ is like a joker – I can choose any stitch count. 

And the ‘7’ is the last card can be turned around to make it a ‘2’ if desired. So my options have multiplied.

Anyway, I only had energy to tat this little freeform piece last night. Will continue tonight and post the final. I have a few ideas for a flat symmetrical motif, too.

Worked in Lizbeth size 80, it measures 4½ cms high and 1 cm across.

I started with three 7ds rings (picot after every stitch), followed by two 5ds rings, and two 1ds rings, all separated with bare thread space. Turn back with the same number of rings, but I made a lock join to the bts between rings, encapsulating green thread within, since I wanted a touch of green in the inflorescence.

The stem is a Josephine chain (15-15), followed by 2 chains of 11 folded over, followed by another JCh. I left a paperclip on core thread after the first JCh. After completing the leaf, I made a join on this inward picot before continuing the remaining stem.

This is a great way to overcome designer’s block or for budding designers to take a semi-structured fun journey.

Onemadtatter came up with another creative option translating chemical notations into tatting stitches! Read how she saw tatting notations in valence electron configurations and actually tatted a Krypton motif!

Aren’t we richer for the options shared by creative tatters and designers?!

My adventure will continue – this is only the first leg and I am already having fun! 
Come travel with us !!!  

Thanks, Natalie J

Click to see a few of my own design processes.

grace marks

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Continuing with the doily DIP (design in progress) … the next 2 rounds are tatted !

So Rounds 5 (the 2 lower pics) and 6 completed. Started on Round 7, with Round 8 on the app.

I might end soon thereafter. 

I heartily welcome your thoughts, reactions, and suggestions. Would you be interested in tatting it if I wrote the pattern ? It looks better in person than in the pics.

But let me rewind back to last year. It all started on Craftree when a small group informally came together to do a Round Robin. I remained interested throughout, never gathering the courage or confidence to actually attempt anything. And Wow, those doilies are a designer’s dream (and a few of the ladies were first-timers) !

Grace Tan coordinated and updated the thread there and kept encouraging me to take part. She even proposed a RR starting Jan 2017 where we wouldn’t need to send the doily across physically. We could each design a round and share the pattern around.

Even though it did not come about, this remained at the back of my mind.

Only now something seemed to click and the rounds are coming together… I owe this project to Grace’s faith in me.  

I’m still a novice, finding my way around. But I can't stop myself from sharing what I learn from self-discovery and from the tips and advice left by my friendly tatters :-)

Here are a few (in no particular order) for beginners like myself –

Doily Designing for Dummies

Want to design your very first doily ? These few pointers might come in handy.

1. Keep it simple.

In terms of technique, elements, process. There will be plenty of opportunities later to apply advanced techniques or designs.

2. Keep it focused.

A theme can help maintain focus and reduce our tendency to be too adventurous. My doily has a radiating theme. And I have tried to avoid Reverse Work, tatting clockwise from the front. It makes my work very easy and limits my rambling off.

3. Motif - Zone in on 1 or 2 design elements.

Repeating this element with tweaks in placement, number, and size is sufficient to create later rounds. In my doily it is mainly the outward facing ‘rings’ and some wavy chains. (Echoing - see #10)

4. How to avoid or tackle ruffling or cupping 

5. Use tools to design.

eg. Grids. A polar grid for circular projects also helps us see & compare the proportions between old and new rounds, thus reducing trial and error in stitchcount.

Apps. I used Sketch Guru app on my tablet to doodle ideas. Upload actual picture and work off it.

These are only 2 examples of the many available tools, apps & programs.

6. Design ahead.

It helps to think of TWO future rounds so that one has an idea of where joining picots are needed.

One can use a fine crochet hook to make the joins, but remember that a picot brings some height to the round/row. Hence estimating whether the entire round will lie flat or the number of stitches required can be flawed.

7. Lots of picots !

If one cannot think 2 rounds ahead, then have lots of picots in the new round. We can then choose which to join to in new round. What to do with the remaining picots can be decided later in the final version.

8. Prioritize

This is part of staying focused. Once the ‘skeleton’ is ready in the trial model(s), decorative elements such as picots, beads, colours,  can be added in later or final version.

9. Functional highlights & end goals

If a doily is to be placed under an object, that object will hide the central portion of the doily. Hence make sure that the design highlights are where they will always be visible. Also thinking ahead to how you want to end the doily can assist in designing the earlier rounds. (Tablescaping - see #10)

10. Design Features

Check out some fabulous tips on what to keep in mind when designing a doily. 

Spacing ; Filling v/s Featuring ; Echoing ; Avoid over-thinking (muddying the waters) ; Tablescaping ; Spanning. 

See the strength of collective wisdom ? Go seek advice :-)

   

In the 10 points listed, some are direct inputs from Grace & Ninetta, but it is also a synergy of several cumulative factors and forces over time.

These are first thoughts and not a sacrosanct list. Creative minds and hands come up with their own paths and no one path is universal. So pick up your shuttles, don your designer’s hat and get going. See you ‘around’ J

A very special thanks to Grace & Ninetta

and 

salute to the tatting community

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

Using a Tiny Motif to create Tatting Designs

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A QUICK-DESIGNING IDEA

aka

TATTERS LOVE TO PLAY !

What does a tiny heart filled with love do ? It multiplies & spreads it’s love around !

One such tiny heart did just that & in the process gave me a designing idea.

I’ve always found it difficult to design a 2D piece with regular/repetitive elements – how to connect elements, how to jump to the next element nicely, how long/short should the chains be, how large/small should the rings be, where should the joining picots be, etc. etc. etc. After all, the final piece Must lie flat !!!

As late entrants to the online tatting world, we have a huge advantage, alongside a minor disadvantage ! With all the wonderful tutorials, patterns, tips & techniques shared freely, we don’t have to reinvent the tatting wheel. So this technique may not come as a surprise to experienced & creative tatters. But for me, it was like finally breaking the glass ceiling on 2D tatting design creation.

So, here is a slice of my own joy in taking a step up the learning ladder!

Peace and Tolerance Tiny Heart designed by Mónica Manceñido seemed like (and is) a very simple pattern. Ah, but appearances can be so deceptive . Why ? Because it hides within it the potential to multiply into varied shapes & patterns in a repeatable arrangement. It is an immensely versatile & adorable little heart :-) It is quite the stash-buster too .

Peace & Tolerance Tiny Heart

Diamond from Peace & Tolerance Tiny Heart

I enjoyed tatting this simple, tiny heart for itself & quickly had 6 of them, in addition to 2 more that I joined together to form a diamond, using picots & chains, in one pass.

• I used Anchor Mercer Crochet Size 20. Red - 046
• For heart motifs, an SSSR (Single Shuttle Split Ring) to end, thus avoiding tying, cutting, hiding ends.
• The diamond motif  (above right), is a simple mirror image, without changing stitch count.
• To avoid sewing in tails, I did a split chain to end.

As a designing element, it is a tatter’s delight !!!

(All the following images are simply a "playing around" with the 6 hearts & 1 diamond that I tatted, trying to see how different placements throw up different patterns)

Multiples of these hearts, with picots in appropriate places, can be combined & adapted to create larger motifs, beautiful diamond shapes, edgings, bookmarks, crosses, insertions, medallions, snowflakes, motifs, bracelets, pendants, necklaces, etc. even butterflies ….

I . Adding Picots

Once the placement has been finalized, identify the points where they would join to each other. These are the points where a picot is required. Hence, make sure to add a picot at all the required places.

In the images below, I have not explicitly shown the picots ; they can be visualized easily enough.

II . Joining Individual Motifs

When designing for beginners, one can tat each motif individually, and join as required.

So, start with 1 complete motif (this could be either the tiny heart or the diamond, with picots incorporated). Tie & cut threads. Start 2^nd motif & join to corresponding picot on 1^st ; complete & tie & cut. Start 3^rd, & join to 2^nd and so on, till you get your desired shape & size.

For tatting patterns in one-pass:

III . Split Rings

But we now look for motifs/patterns that can be done in one pass, with as little tying & cutting as possible. That’s when Split Rings, & similar techniques come into play.

Without changing stitch counts in all the following arrangements, one can complete the entire pattern in one pass, using SRs in the right places.

 

   

UPDATE (Aug 2018) : Using split rings to climb out to next motif -

  Tiny Heart Circular Edging pattern

IV . Changing An Element

For some, one may need to change an element. Eg. a ring may be changed to chains, thus facilitating a return back to the start , without any breaks in between. Split Rings may still be required.

 

  

  

  

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This is a great idea, or should I say a "Lazy Tatter's" idea, to create patterns using a small element/piece. It neither takes too much of designing effort nor many mis-trials. The size, shape, joining points, etc. emerge from the positioning itself. All one needs is to add the "missing pieces" whether it is a picot, a ring, a chain, etc.

One can even consider Eliminating an element wherever required !

Or how about adding another round to the placement  !
By positioning tiny motifs farther apart, one can get a hexagon, octagon, or other polygonal structures. 
The mind boggles at all the possibilities !

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V . Adding an element :

The 5-heart motif can also be done in one pass by Adding a chain & using SRs. (as shown by black lines in the figure below) Or one can add longer chains & an occasional ring  around the periphery as a 2^nd round.

VI . Eliminating an element :

Here is an example of a pattern Within a pattern. 

The adjoining edging can be made in one pass by eliminating the 2 larger rings on either side  & keeping only the clovers, joined in alternating orientations with SRs. (as shown by the black over-lines in lower figure)

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"Elementary", did you say ?!
Yeah, all this may have been done before. Even so,  who can deny us our "tiny", simple little pleasures ;-))       

This beginner-level tiny heart is good practice for any novice designer, just starting out or for someone who is facing a tatter's block . Or for somebody who is impatient & lazy ;-))

TIP : Triangles & squares are perfect for a beginner in designing, because adjacent motifs snug up well together. Circles, on the other hand, leave more gaps/spaces between them that may require additional patterns to fill up.

I have only depicted small arrangements & braids. These can very well form the basis of larger coasters, mats, & doilies, too.

Some may require a Split Chain, a Split Ring, a Mock Ring, or some other advanced technique to make, connect,  or move to next element. Since I have not Actually tatted them, only arranged them & taken photos, I cannot claim that All of these will actually turn out the way they are photographed. These are possibilities to try out. And more importantly, this is one way of creating a design/pattern easily, using existing tiny motifs – be it in the shape of a triangle, square, circle, & so on.
   

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In my next post, I will share the pattern for a 3D Poppy flower based on this very Tiny Heart pattern. 

It is my first time incorporating classic or vintage design elements in a 

free-form dimensional pattern & I’m modestly proud of it  - my "best" pattern to date ;-P

Hope you join me next time as well ... 

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

One single "Tiny" heart, a heart that symbolizes love, has spawned so many patterns...

That is what Love is  all about - spread it around .....

Cheers !!!

UPDATE : The pattern for 3D Poppy Flower, is uploaded in 2 parts. I will convert to pdf file soon.
Tiny Heart Poppy pattern Part 1
Tiny Heart Poppy pattern Part 2

Motif #16 for 25 Motif Challenge