Ninetta’s
Curled Rings - The Concept
This little ditty is
dedicated to you & your rings (Layered & Curled), Ninetta,
that I have been
going round & around & around ever since you posted about them ! ;-P
‘Ring’ing in the new !
She graciously granted
permission to do a tutorial on these rings. And that is how it would’ve been –
a pictorial series of options on how the curled rings could be made, used,
applied ; the possibilities, the potential. But options kept growing (including
valuable suggestions & tips from the designer herself) & my brain went into
a swirl with so much ….
Now, after stepping back for
a few weeks, & a few posts later, I came back to this.
Something had changed,
though. Something had evolved. 'Behind the scenes' !
If I had the perseverance, I would approach the
pictorial that will follow a bit differently. But I don’t have the inclination to start afresh
& re-photograph each step (My
apologies. You are welcome to ask questions, & contribute suggestions, though).
Now, as far as I know (& I don't know much about history, diversity, evolution of tatting, so jump in to correct ), Ninetta's Curled
Ring is a completely New & Original technique .
Hence, a bit of conceptualization, an overview seemed in order, instead of simply jumping into a how-to pictorial . The following is
my own perspective/understanding, based on my limited experience & experimentation with this … I have
tried to add some collated images & relevant links to images/patterns wherever possible.
1. What is a
Curled Ring ?
It is a normal closed ring, folded over itself, which may or may not encapsulate another
element such as a chain or a ring. This horizontal folding over creates a cup-shaped
dimensional effect, due to half the ring ‘disappearing’ behind.
- Any ring can be curled, so long as there is a
picot towards the tip, to anchor the fold neatly.
- The ring is made normally ; closed normally.
- Then it is folded horizontally & a join is
made through the picot, at the base of the closed ring.
- Voila ! A curled ring is formed.
And the thread is back in
position to where the ring had been started , ie. at the base of the ring ; and
pattern can continue as desired.
2. Can all
Rings be Curled ?
Any, & I stress, Any ring
can be curled . And the ring is made “normally”, & the curling is effected
only after closing the ring. All it needs is (1) a very small picot in the right
place (ideally at the very tip) which will anchor the fold/curl ; and (2) a ring large enough to make the curling possible & visible.
One can make it with a normal
ring, onion/concentric rings, split rings, large rings, single shuttle split rings, & so on. ( I have tried all these myself. One can play with more types of rings, rings within rings, .... )
Beads can be added too !
3. What
about Folded Rings ?
(click on each heading for link to respective page)
|
|
|
|
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1.
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Fold made before ring is
closed
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Fold made after ring is
closed
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2.
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Fold due to insertion of
half sts
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Ring is normal, all ds same
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3.
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A Segment(s) within ring
folds
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Entire ring folds in half
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4.
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Ring takes on diverse
shapes
eg. crescent, paisley, …
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Ring shape remains constant
;
after curl, a cup-shaped
half circle
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5.
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Dimensionality negligent ;
manifests thru’alteration
of ring
shape only
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Clear & distinct
dimensionality ;
ring has ‘2 layers’ after
fold
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Wonder how Folded Rings would look when Curled ?! Another experiment down the line ;-P
4. Can there
be Differences in the Curl ?
Yes, minor differences can
exist , although basic concept remains same . The differences can be due to
personal preferences, or requirements of a pattern. eg.
- Curl Up / Curl Down : Is the tip of the ring
(picot) brought up to lie over the base when curling ; or is the tip
folded in downward direction so that the base lies on top of the picot
when joining ?
- Curl Over / Curl Around : Does the ring curl over
itself or does it curl around a chain or ring, thus encapsulating that
element?
- Curl In / Curl Out : Does the curl face inwards or outwards ? Usually, a Curl In encapsulates an element.
- Join : Curl can be anchored using a Normal Picot Join, Slope
& Roll Join, or a Lock Join.
- Curl can be Single or Multiple – in the sense
that the curl/join is made through a single picot (normal ring, onion ring,
split ring) or the join is made through several rings simultaneously.
- The length of picot that is
anchored while curling, Or a space of bare thread left before anchoring, can
also alter the look of the curled ring ! A vsp will curl the ring into a
perfect half folding over itself. But a longer picot or bare thread space can
‘show’ more of the curled ring, like an cascading overlap.
- A picot that is offset, ie.
not in the centre of the ring, will give a slight unsymmetrical curling of
ring.
- Very large rings may also behave differently especially when curled over themselves (as in the image above)
5. Why Curled
Rings?
- Curled rings, besides being
decorative, add dimensionality to any ordinary flat tatting.
- They add elegance &
interest & a certain character.
- They can transform any old/common pattern with
a modern flair . A "simple clover pattern" edging here, is transformed with curled Onion rings !
- They add some depth, some
weight/bulk & hence work Great on jewelery eg. Ninetta's earrings, here
- Curled rings can be substituted for a picot when trying to join to a previous element, row, or round ! Such as her segnalibro-aprile (Bookmark for April) here, where she uses them on split rings in the tail.
- And of course, these can be used for all-out 3D tatting, as in the pendant I shared here , or the calyx of my Morning Glory flower!
But beyond that, I believe I
found a couple of other practical uses, especially, if like me, you don’t have
the necessary jewelry-making supplies on hand.
- As in my pendant above, where I used a triple onion ring as a pendant hook, through which the chain can be inserted. Not only is the curled onion ring sturdy, but it also continues from the pattern itself.
- Similarly, for a bracelet, I made a curled ring at one end & a normal/Josephine ring at the other. The curled ring can be inserted through the normal ring & bracelet can be 'locked' in place; to ‘undo’, simply tug on the curled ring. It acts like a bracelet toggle !
6. Notation
for Curled Rings
Can we denote them as CR or
C-R ?
eg. for a normal ring, CR
would’ve sufficed.
But if it was a split ring,
then CSR or C-SR ? Or in case of a single shuttle split ring : C-SSSR ?
Or should we simply say 'Curl Ring' after the stitch count for ring is given ?
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I believe, after reading the above, it will be clear that the technique is extremely simple & all it needs is creativity application. I hope at least a few of you will be tempted to try it out without the need for any tutorial . I will, however, start posting the tuts, especially after having worked on them for so long (And made you wait ;-P)
Your thoughts & all suggestions are most welcome
& eagerly awaited.
I thank you for reading through, if you have ;-P
happy tatting & experimenting :-)
2 years back (huh, July again!) I posted a few of my verses on ‘Tatting in my Pocket’.
On 3rd of this month Noelene Lafferty – the originator – revived it in the Just Tatting group on facebook!
