slippery paths

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a TWoT analysis of climbing out in tatting

Mark ‘tatman’ Myers’ Luster Snowflake

Studying Pathways and Process – a stepwise pictorial

Luster snowflake by Mark Myer is an excellent study in tatting continuously without cutting the thread, using techniques such as split rings (SR) and self closing mock rings (SCMR) to climb out. The pattern also provides plenty of SCMR practice.

We’ve all been there – we can do the split rings and SCMRs, yet the orientation and which shuttle goes where can get confusing during early stages of learning. Which is what happened with Amritha from the online class. She is aggressively learning many tatting techniques and often emails me for help. I can usually answer her questions using various means, but this particular one needed a holistic approach. It required more stepwise visuals, despite the accompanying diagram and notations therein. And I discovered 2 pathways in the process!

With Mark Myer’s kind permission and lovely email, I am sharing the path/sequence of elements in the snowflake, through the use of 2 different colours, in the hope that others facing similar situations may also find some resolution. 

This exercise will be beneficial in future 2-colour tatting to understand placement of colours, direction of tatting, shuttle choice, and directional (frontside/backside) tatting - to make choices and understand effects.

This project was started & completed in May when his Tatterville site was still operational. Since then, most of his patterns have been shifted to facebook. 
This pattern can be downloaded from Photos → Tatting Patterns album.

Click to download Pictorial pdf of Luster Snowflake Process

The stepwise pics and explanation are in the pdf along with notes, tutorial links, table and tips such as when to switch shuttles, etc. 

When you climb out with a split ring and the very next element is a chain, how do you work this ? Do you reverse work and tat the chain from the back side (path 2) or do you simply switch shuttles and continue from the front side (path 1) ?

My own feeling is that the former is almost a natural subconscious movement and often unwritten/unspecified in written patterns & diagrams. The switch shuttles is a more ‘modern’ phenomenon. And I guess tatman used the Reverse Work path - it all fits in.

I faced a somewhat similar directional dilemma in this heart pattern where the diagram & instructions went a certain way & my tatting the other.

Your choice determines the overall direction of working the round, the shuttle required for elements such as thrown rings & SCMRs, and also the colour of chains, thrown rings, mock rings in two-colour tatting. 

This is one of the TWoT (This Way or Tat?) rules that is yet to be shared through diagrams.

Let's examine it partially through the snowflake ....

In both models, shuttle 1 has copper thread and shuttle 2 has green. The center is worked exactly the same. Only after the climbing into outer round with split ring, do we need to take a decision on how to proceed.

TWoT Rule for climbing out with a split ring : 

Path 1 involves choosing the nearest shuttle . Thus tatting progresses from the front, in a clockwise direction. 

Path 2 involves reversing work (RW) as we would do if it were a regular ring-chain pattern. Here, tatting progresses counterclockwise when seen from the front. (The same consequences are seen if we Turn Work here)

Compare also the colour changes that occur in the outer round because of these choices - in the chains, the rings and the thrown clover!

And obviously the working shuttle changes.

So how do we decide which shuttle produces what effect in some of the common techniques used ? Especially in 2-colour tatting. The following table works as a quick reference. 

Red thread in shuttle 1 & blue thread in shuttle 2. 

The table shows the colour of stitches and the lower row shows core thread colour (which is the same as the working shuttle, except in case of split rings).

And these coloured arrows depict the core thread colour in the luster snowflake (path 1) model ... where red is shuttle 1 (copper thread) & green is shuttle 2 (green thread)

This post has probably become more technical than I'd intended, so if you managed to read through, you are my hero :-)))

I thoroughly enjoyed tatting the 3 models, although I do prefer working in size 40 (white). And I hope some confusion will be laid to rest through the pictorial in pdf.

This is my first tatman pattern, but definitely not the last.

Many many thanks to Mark ‘tatman’ Myers

for his gracious permission and generosity

Related Posts :
How to avoid gapsosis in ring clusters (Luster snowflake used for pictorial)  

in the fold !

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It's always fun to learn a new technique.  And then experiment, compare, ....

In Tatting Design class, Susan Fuller introduced the half moon split ring as a design element.  I had tried it only once before, then forgotten about it. This time was different, having acquired some more experience and understanding of multiple techniques.

Splitting Rings

The half moon split ring (hmsr) , to me, is worked like an upside down split ring (SR) !!!
The shuttle 1 flipped stitches and colour show up on the Lower/right side ; in Split ring, they show up on the upper/left half.
Stitches in both halves face the same side in hmsr,  while they face outwards throughout the split ring.


 It forms a double arc like a crescent or a half moon, depending on stitch count of the 2 arcs.
If 2 colours are used, we can tat up a scalloped braid or a wavy row of rings.
Add a bead in the notch and you have yourself a neat little bracelet !!!
Decorative picots or seed beads on the outer arc create even more interest.
In center of 1st pic, 3 hmsr joined back form a kind of triangular inner line (ecru), and scalloped on the outside (pink).
And notice the wavy line undulating around an almost straight line  in 2nd pic ?
Many possibilities and effects.


Folding Rings 

While practising the hmsr, it was pretty natural to compare it with Folded Rings .
(Curled ring is another way to "fold' a ring, and is compared with Folded Rings here).

And after figuring out how to create a table on my tablet, I prepared a comparative and characteristic tabulation. (Table format gets lost when copy-pasted here, hence the pdf route)

Download  Table comparing Folded Ring and Half Moon Split Ring  (revised Feb 17, 2017 in response to Martha's comment below) 


The pics show practice and experimental pieces, hence not of best quality, nor consistent.  Stitch counts, though, were kept largely consistent for comparison.
HMSR braid (2nd pic) : shuttles were switched between rings.
1. (SH1 loop) 12/8
2. (SH2) 12/8
3. (SH1) 12/12
4. (SH2) 12/6
5. (SH1) 12/16
Compare hmsr #1 & 5, both made in same manner, but with more stitches in inner arc. And suddenly the inner arc becomes the outer arc !!!
What if the both halves were equal ? Wouldn't it look like a double scallop, but with one colour hidden ? Nice way yo carry a chain effect !


Folded Rings (3rd pic)
1. 12 set a 8
2. 8 set b 12
3. 12 set a 6 set b 12
These are only a few. So many more can be found on Martha's tutorial.


Related posts - Other comparisons :
Padding the stitch (s-pds, BDS, DDS, pds)
Folded rings and Curled rings
Rings on Ring
Reverse ring and SCMR

I apologise for not staying in touch - down with the flu . Hope to get back in the loop soon. Till then, happy tatting :-)
Oh, and there just might be a surprise introduction to another "project" I have involved in this past week. 

a new look or ...

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… turning over a new leaf ? mocking or reversing ? Fancy a tatted troll !

For Georgia’s Online Class one of the patterns shared was a troll pattern! Reverse rings again – caught my fancy, as well as it’s potential to turn into an angel (but that for another day). Time for yet another refresher.

Small, cute, beckoning. Found a shuttle with some size 20 white thread left. Perfect. Completed within minutes.

Troll with an Afro !

Slight adaptation of 

Tatted Christmas Troll by Ruth Perry

First off, this rings-only pattern has 2 central rings (head & body) with thrown/floating rings for limbs and ears. There are multiple ways to work this, as annotated and compared here. 

Further, the Reverse Ring can easily be substituted with a mock ring – the SCMR (self closing mock ring) !

Body and Head

I followed the pattern instructions, using a single shuttle & reverse rings.

But I pulled out a long tail from the shuttle – enough to wrap around your hand for the 2 central rings plus the bit that is used up as core thread inside these 2 rings. 10-15 inches is more than sufficient, in size 20.

For eyes, string 2 beads on this long tail (not in original pattern).

This tail is used to wrap around hand as core thread, over which Reverse stitches (unflipped) are made/wrapped as in second half of split ring.

TIP : Loop the long tail. This can be done in 2 ways.

1. as we do for a split ring (SR) – over and around finger to hold in pinch ; or
2. as for left handed tatting – under and around finger to hold in pinch.

In both cases, the loop is made with tail and the unflipped stitches with the shuttle.

Yes, you guessed right – reverse ring is a split ring without the first half – it is all second half !  ...

UPDATE (Dec 27, 2016) :  A short explanation of how to work a Reverse Ring... Wrap the ring thread exactly as you would for a SR, with hand in the SR position ('dead spider'). Pretend you are about to start a SR, BUT, tat Only the unflipped stitch or 2nd half side throughout. Unlike a SR, where we usually begin with 1st half (normal double stitches), then work the 2nd half with 2nd shuttle in Reverse/unflipped stitches, in RR, we do Only the 2nd half for entire ring using 2nd shuttle.

Appendages

Hands, legs and ears are all thrown rings around a central ring. I tatted them as backside rings using the reverse order half stitches (RODS), and posting the shuttle before closing each ring. Posting shuttle keeps the ring from curling when closed.   

Eyes

Bead for eyes was brought forth 1ds away from the ear, without changing the overall stitchcount.

Afro cut

Long picots, snipped across at end. Each cut tail was rolled between fingers to untwist – this is super fast! Leave as is, after trimming. Original pattern calls for fraying and lovely fluorescent threads are used!

Okay, this is an aging troll with thinning hair ;-P Should we give him a wig?

I skimped on the hiding ends procedure by tying a bow around it’s neck with the tail ends.

Georgia shared a cute idea in class – fold the limbs & stiffen the troll into a sitting position !!! I would love to do that – if only my thrown rings weren’t so firmly in place with no wiggle room.

many thanks to Ruth & Georgia for sharing this enjoyable pattern

SCMR and Reverse Rings  

a comparative chart

This revisiting of reverse rings and the SCMR option got me thinking of their characteristics and the outcome is this tabulation. It is based on my present comprehension, and if there are any errors, Please let me know before the mistake(s) spread.

Sufficient conditions are listed; there can be exceptions and situational tweaks. 

Mock it, Reverse it - nothing is written in stone ! 

For Reverse Ring tutorials/videos, synonyms, options, scroll down to Thrown/Floating Rings here. 

Please note that reverse rings can also be worked if one is using 2 shuttles. But a single shuttle suffices if there is thread from the ball to loop for the ring.

An understanding of the characteristics of each, can help us choose one technique over the other, play with colour placement. eg., tatting a 2-coloured onion ring might be more convenient if tatting the inner ring as a reverse ring. 

Download pdf here : SCMR vs RR Table

Download pdf here : SCMR vs RR Table

see also Central Ring with Thrown Rings

happy tatting with a :-)

TWoT-1

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So, here we go ! The TWoT series begins !

This Way or Tat?

Introduction

Read the Preface here.

Download the Introduction to ‘This Way or Tat?’ here.

The Introduction consists of : bullet points to give an overview ; snowflake patterns (2 versions) as a practice or baseline piece ; and a worksheet or table to jot down your observations.

These Dotted Snowflakes have been designed specifically for this series to establish a sort of personal baseline. You can choose to tat any version or continue to tat whatever you have on your shuttles. Just be mindful of the way in which tatting is progressing at each step.

The table will give you an idea of what to look out for. This is a prototype table. You can use, alter, adapt it as you wish. 

I think the table itself , or a modification thereof, can be used by tatters & designers to keep track of any new project. I know I’ll be using it for my future designing !!!

These and future patterns for this series will be fairly small, simple, quick to tat.

Any resemblance to known patterns is purely coincidental and unintentional. I have not referred to any pattern, any stitch count, but one can never be sure of the subliminal influences and inspirations that seep in. 

Both are tatted in Anchor size 40 thread and measure 2½”

This 2-round pattern can be tatted in one pass.

In Round 1, the starting ring has a ¼” picot to which the 5 rings will be joined.

How to Estimate the Length of a Central Picot ?

Thread size, tatting tension, etc. make it difficult to standardize the length, despite a designer's best efforts. 

A thumb rule has emerged (but needs more confirmation). 

TIP :    length of central picot = 1DS span/width for each future ring.

Make the picot loop and fold back along the first part of ring. Going along, if 5 more rings need to be attached, the folded loop should span at least 6 DS ie. it should be 6DS wide. 

Similarly, if there are to be 8 rings around a central picot, the picot loop (doubled) should span at least 8-9 DS.

If you are tatting these snowflakes or any similar medallion, what has been your experience ? I would love for you to experiment and confirm or reject. Please do share.

In Round 2, I have deliberately used both dots & Josephine rings in this pattern. Interestingly, they have the same total half-stitch count, yet the JR is larger than the dot, as I had discovered here ! Dots are very small rings with normal double stitches. Now you know why the snowflakes got their name! Perhaps 'Dotty' would've been more appropriate ;-)

Both versions stacked together :

Love the way the 2 snowflakes stack up! Idea for a new version, using both ?!!

Download the complete pdf of Introduction to ‘This Way or Tat?’ here.

Set 1 (Rings Only) will be uploaded in a week's time. 

Feel free to ask any questions. Your feedback, criticism & inputs can benefit us all. Please take a moment to share your thoughts and observations. 

happy tatting :-)

Related Posts :

Preface to This Way or Tat?

Dots

a post about post - reposted

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…. where a simple doily round leads to musings & experimentation on rings and when to post a shuttle.

Wiosna 2016

A doily tat-along by Renulek

Round 11  

Measures 11½” in size 40 Anchor Mercer 4054-0300

Another very easy, leisurely round. I was scared of messing up the alternate floating/thrown rings – one with decorative picots, one with single small picot. But frequent checking kept me on the right path, phew.

There is one thing that has me flummoxed for a long time : the directionally tatted (frontside/backside or RODS) rings don’t close as flat as normal rings. Off & on I had experimented with many different tweaks but nothing seemed to work.

I took this opportunity, to experiment further. The rings were small and a botched experiment would not be too visible.

I was surprised at the trial result, and happy to have found a solution that works for me. And in my usual way, I didn’t stop at that. My curiosity to see how different ways of tatting & closing rings compare with each other led to this small experimentation below. The model is accompanied by a table with all details.

This may not be ‘original’, but it is part of my own learning process to make my tatting better.

Dear tatters, what is the secret to Your perfect rings  ???? 

R – ring ; FR – floating/thrown ring ; DS – double stitch ; RODS – reverse order DS ; fs/bs – frontside/backside ; fhs – first half stitch ; shs – second half stitch ;  post shuttle – pass shuttle through ring from front to back before closing ring ; . – close ring ; – – picot.

Points to ponder :

• Base of ring at closure – in the images, point of closure of each ring lies on the right.
• Does the core thread emerge from ‘front’ or from ‘back’ – after shs, core thread emerges from the front ; after fhs, it lies behind.
• Size of the ring – perhaps there is a difference when closing small versus large ring ?
• Desired shape of ring – tear drop or rounded.

Different Ways of Closing Rings

All rings in the pic are 5 – 5 

Except for #1, all lower (aqua) rings are RODS (directional or fs/bs tatting)

Pink rings are thrown/floating rings.

Reverse Work before & after each lower ring.

Download the pdf here : Different Ways of Closing Rings Experiment

For a long time now, I had been following Frivole’s tip in Ring 4 of adding an extra shs before closing ring, when working from the front. 
In the latter half of Round 11, where the rings were 4-4, and worked from the back (after reversing work), an extra shs and posting shuttle (as in Ring 9 above) seemed to work, making me happy.

But look what happens in Round 12 where the ring is 8-8 :

In these 'larger' directional rings, before closing, I added a 1st half stitch and posted the shuttle. They lie so much better than the first one on left which was extra 2nd half stitch and post shuttle ! I'm not sure whether size of ring is the reason ... that will require more trials to determine. 
Let's just say that we have many options to choose from as the situation demands.

What I also noticed is that the ring tends to remain slightly open, & requires one final tug to close it completely. Perhaps this is also the reason why I can open the ring much more smoothly in case of retro-tatting.

When to post shuttle ?

(Common Threads V)

I first learned about posting a shuttle through a ring on InTatters & when I tried it (then & later, too), it didn’t work for me. Don’t know why some things just take a long time to ‘click’ !

Although it hadn’t worked in regular tatting, I did find many applications where it is required – whether posting the same shuttle, the 2^nd shuttle, or even multiple shuttles ; whether posting through an unclosed ring or through other elements or a loop. 
Here is my compilation (now updated) which I shared in a recent Craftree thread on posting a shuttle. Of course, now I’ll have to go back & amend my answer :-D

(Most links are to my blog posts which have further direct links to respective tutorials )

1. Interlocking Rings using shuttle – clearly, without posting the shuttle through the previous ring (before it is closed), there will be no interlocking of rings, whichever method one adopts for the latter effect. 

2. Interlaced Split Rings – In this 4-shuttle braid, the one shuttle from the 2^nd pair is posted through the open split ring of 1^st pair, in order to interlace adjoining rings. 
   
3. Teri Dusenbury's SQDR (split quadruple directional rings) which are rings thrown off a split ring. These thrown/floating rings twist if shuttle is not posted. 
   Arrow points to the yellow ring where I forgot to post the shuttle. 
   

   
4. Freeform – when the 2^nd shuttle or ball is posted through the unclosed ring, the next element (chain or ring) overlaps or is enclosed by the first ring, slightly. 
   

   
5. Cluny Tatting – one small step behind the scenes, especially for multi-Warp tallies, requires the loom shuttle to be passed/posted through the horizontal bars at back. This step allows for easy closing of each Warp , when tally is closed. 
   
6. Curled Cluny Leaf 
   
7. Ninetta's small Curled Rings or Alternate Methods of Curling Rings – requires the other shuttle to be posted through the ring such that it gets encapsulated within the joining picot. 
   
8. Ninetta’s Tiny Tatted Beads – In her 3-shuttle pattern, she posts 2 shuttles through the tiny ring, creating a cute beaded effect. 
   
9. Celtic Tatting often requires a shuttle to be posted through elements.
10. Directional rings - for neater, flatter rings, as demonstrated in experiment above. 
    
11. Interlocking Split Ring Braid – consists of a  continuous braid of split rings interlocked together in a row. Made with 4 shuttles, it requires posting one pair of shuttles through the unclosed SR of 2^nd pair & so on. Also check out this chainmail-type braid by Ninetta made with only 2 shuttles and her pictorial showing 3 methods here.                                                                                                     
    
12.  Enrapt rings – one can wrap shuttle 2 thread around the rings in different ways as experimented here Overlapping Picots on rings & chains 
    
     
13. Overlapping Picots in rings – in order for the layered picots to become intertwined & overlap through adjacent picots, posting shuttle is required. 
    

    14. Intruding Picot (UPDATE) - a new way to make inward facing picots that are hugely versatile and easily applicable in a number of techniques. Simply posting shuttle through an open ring or a chain, leaving bare thread for picot, creates this picot. Numerous applications!

15. Spiral Rings (UPDATE) - Lenka's Spiral rings - posting the shuttle makes rhe ring spiral in fhe opposite direction.  https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/search?q=Spiral+ring

While 'posting a shuttle' usually refers to dropping it through a closing ring, in a sense the movement is performed when encapsulating the other shuttle thread in most joins such as CWJ, LHP, S2LHP, etc. or perhaps SCMR & LTROR when shuttle is 'posted' through a loop.

But why muddy the waters more – haven’t you had enough of this ‘post’ already ?! ;-P

If you have, thanks for patiently reading through :-D
Thanks for leaving valuable feedback/comments earlier

Related Posts : as linked above (blue text) ,

and

Wiosna Rnds 1-3 , Rnd 4 , Rnds 5-6 , Rnds 7-8 , Rnds 9-10

pds – padded double stitch

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Padding the Double Stitch - any which way !

We’ve heard of padded tatting. We’ve also heard of/used Double Double stitch & Balanced Double Stitch to straighten out long chains. Some may even remember self-padded double stitch from an earlier time. Are all these the same or different ?

Here is my attempt (delayed by over a year, sorry) to make some sense of it all. I apologize for the length of this post ... 

Some sentences/paras are direct quotes from the original thread here. To distinguish these, I’ve used a different font in blue. Anything in italics here is my personal comment. Unless otherwise indicated, all quotes are by Judith Connors. Needle tatting quotes are by Judy Anderson.

======================================

I.  The  Terms

Existent :

s-p ds : self-padded double stitch or self-padded ring (Rhoda Auld, 1974),

BDS : Balanced double stitch (Ruth Perry, 2008), 

DDS : Double Double stitch (Jane Eborall, 2009), 

Proposed :  Padded  Double  Stitch  (pds)

pds : padded double stitch (emerged/evolved through a discussion in Craftree, 2014)

======================================

II.  Why  call  it  pds ?

1. Historical credit. Padded double stitch is simply shortened from Rhoda’s first known use of ‘self-padding a ds’. “Her experimentations are recorded on page 84 of her book, 'Tatting: the contemporary art of knotting with a shuttle'”.  This was arrived at after some detailed discussion, investigation, & experimentation by participants in the thread "Balanced Double Stitch (?)" started by Judith.
2. BDS & DDS are only two of the possible motions (& applications) that can create padding in a stitch, making them a subset of the pds formation. Refer to ensuing points & Table in Sec.IV 
   
3. Variable/unequal wraps on the half stitches or between ds can create graduated, transitional, or unique effects on any ring or chain. (I shared some possibilities here). But then the stitch will not remain ‘Balanced’, nor only a ‘Double’. Hence a generic term like padded ds seems more appropriate.
4. And pds, with it’s proposed Notation System captures this variability in written form, too. See examples of notation in next segment.
5. “Padded double stitches may be applied, for effect, to known elements in tatting.” Besides large rings & long chains, they can be used in Split rings, Onion/concentric rings, Josephines, etc. as showcased in pictures below.    
6. Standardization to reduce confusion – both with multiple terms as well as notation. pds could be considered a generic term .

======================================

III.  Notation for padded double stitch

A double stitch is made of 2 half stitches, called 1^st HS/fhs & 2^nd HS/shs.

Hence in order to show padding wraps, we include the half stitches in brackets, with number of wraps indicated on each.

Thus,

1. ‘Balanced’/Equal Padding :

pds(1,1) means 1 wrap on fhs & 1 wrap on shs.

So, if you’ve been reading carefully, what would pds(1,1) represent ??

Yes! pds(1,1) = BDS or DDS !!!  And by same logic, pds(0,0) = DS!

pds(2,2) = 2 wraps each on each half stitch.

2. Variable/Unequal Padding :

pds(1,3) = 1 wrap on fhs & 3 wraps on shs.

pds(4,2) = 4 wraps on fhs & 2 wraps on shs.

pds(0,2) = no wrap on fhs & 2 wraps on shs.

pds(3,0) = 3 wraps on fhs & no wrap on shs.

pds(0,1) = no wrap on fhs, 1 wrap on shs. (Half DDS by Jane Eborall, 2014)

In these 3 examples , 0 or no wrap means that half stitch is tatted like a normal half stitch, without any padding , as seen in above pic, where Chain is pds(0,5) 

3. Number of Stitches :

Just as one puts a numeral before ds to indicate how many stitches are to be tatted, one puts a numeral before ‘pds’ to indicate the number of stitches required.

3pds(1,1) = 3 padded ds with 1 wrap in each half stitch.

6pds(3,2) = 6 stitches with 3 wraps in fhs & 2 wraps in shs

5pds(0,3) = 5 pds with no wrap in fhs & 3 wraps in shs.

4. Special Elements :
Josephines are worked with only one of the half stitches - either 1st or 2nd only. This can be represented with a “–” for the missing half st.

Eg. JR 10pds(–,2) = a J Ring of 10 sts padded with 2 wraps on the shs ;
JC 6pds(3,–) = J chain of 6 sts padded with 3 wraps on fhs.     

    

================================

IV.  Tabulated  Comparison  of  Stitches

For pdf download of table : "Padding" the Stitch Table (revised) 

======================================

V.  How to Wrap the half stitches ?

Refer to Table above. Click on names below for direct link to resource.

Resources/Tutorials referred to by :  Ruth Perry , Jane Eborall , Karen Cabrera .

This post is more about unifying the seemingly different movements applied to attain the same result. I would love for you to take up your shuttle(s) & some scrap thread & try out the 3 versions for yourself & have fun discovering the Wow moment ! And also find your own comfort movement :-) Humour me ?

And one can’t really go wrong . WHY ?

If you make a mistake in the wrap, it will do only 1 of 2 things :

either unwrap immediately so that you have no padding (it is easily visible)

OR

it will create a knotty situation (pun intended) when you try to snug it close. So in either case, one will realise one's mistake & can rectify it immediately.

My Submission : The extra wrap(s) can be made anywhere !

It does not matter Where the extra ‘wrap’ is made – on the core thread, or on the loop of the half stitch that is being formed, on the ‘leg’, or on the ‘auxiliary’ thread (chain/ball/shuttle 2 thread), or How it is made – whether before flipping or after! Once the half stitch is Flipped, &/or the threads tensioned, the result is the Same ! After flipping the half stitch, whichever it is, the wraps will coil around the core thread in the same way seen in 3rd pic from top , or pics #4 & #8 below. And tensioning or snugging, the stitch will also produce the exact same padded effect.

There are 3 ‘ways’ to wrap around a half stitch (before or after flipping)

1. core thread (as Jane does)
2. 'leg' loop of stitch (as Karen does)
3. working 'cap'/upper thread of stitch loop (in pictorial below)

and it will make no difference to the end result ! The 3^rd way is photographed below 

======================================

VI.  3^rd Way of Padding the Double Stitch

A Quick Pictorial
… making the wrap on the top auxiliary thread part of flipped half stitch – the ‘cap’ part

Since the formation of the wrap is of no consequence, one is free to choose what one finds most comfortable & easy. In fact, I have used all 3 wrapping movements interchangeably in my Wreath Ornament ! I usually wrap around ‘cap’; but for reverse stitch or 2^nd half of SR, I find it easier to wrap around the taut core thread.

======================================

VII.  Are these the same ?

1. Padded Tatting and ‘Padding’ Tatting !

'padded tatting' is a concept which would embrace a number of effects:
* using multiple core threads or a cord, as in pearl tatting (aka parallel and Maltese tatting);
* the use of wool, in needle tatting;
* using threads of two different thicknesses, the thicker one as the core;
* Rhoda Auld's and our recent padded (wrapped) double stitch --> padded chain and padded ring. [This includes the BDS & DDS].
There are probably others, depending on the experimentation of various tatters.

Thus pds is a ‘subset’ of padded tatting where we are ‘padding’ the stitch, without use of any auxiliary thread. Can be done with both a regular double stitch (flipped) or the unflipped reverse stitch formations, and any element using them. So, while we keep saying padded DS, it could well be padded RS

2. Roll Tatting & Padded DS

The movement is similar, one is making wraps ! But in Roll tatting, one wraps around the Core thread Only, with no stitches.

In Padded DS, one is wrapping within the stitch.

======================================

VIII.  Can it be done in Needle Tatting ?

YES, and it is so much easier ! 

This technique is not limited to shuttle tatting. For needle-tatters, Judy points out how easy it is : “just circle that finger twice before putting on the needle.” So, the wraps are made on the finger !

Judy goes on to say “This needle tatter has used both padding and variable tension.. and both at the same time ... to make a reasonable script J for a monogram. Tight curves, rounder ones and straight sections…”

======================================

IX.  Final  Observations

CHARACTERISTICS :

It provides thickness, texture, interest, stiffness, bulk, highlight. 
It is very easy to do & very practical for long lengths of chains, large rings, and many decorative elements. 
It makes the stitch wider/broader, too.
 “It works well for a bracelet because the chain is not curved as a normal chain would be.” (Jane McLellan)
It is perfect for 3D &/or freeform tatting to add stiffness & effect. I have used the pds in a lot of my freeform 3D patterns, listed at end.  

RELEVANT FACTORS :

Size of thread is inversely related. Fewer wraps possible with thicker thread, because it is unwieldy to tension.

But quantity of thread used is directly proportional to the number of wraps.

Soft silky threads make better wraps.

Tension plays a role in the final visual effect of each stitch as well as the overall appearance.

For noticeable visible difference in effect when making unequal/variable wraps in half stitches of same DS – the difference in wraps should be more than One.

LIMITATIONS :

As the number of wraps increase, the thread may start to twist. Suspend shuttle to normalize.

For same reason, padding a Josephine ring or chain, may become slightly more difficult.

TIP (Judith Connors)  “… the adage 'Less is more' is advised, as over-padding could alter the integrity of the known elements.

Some tatters never use this type of double stitch, preferring to tension the double stitches less so that the chains do not curve much at all. [When I tension less in some sections of inverted tatting, I can produce chains which are straight.]”

I invite your inputs, opinion, feedback, & suggestions .

Thanks to All Designers & Participants 

who have contributed so much to tatting & it's evolution

Related Posts : My experiments and trials

My patterns using pds : Wreath , Rustic Leaf , Poppy , 

Snowflake , Morning Glory , Doodle 

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  Ninetta’s Curled Rings was voted as the Best Tatting Tutorial

  

2 of my projects & 2 tutorials had been nominated, of which this one won. 

I think it is very much in keeping with my 2 passions - TATeaching :-)))

A BIG Thanks to all you wonderful voters for such a lovely gift :-)

and a very special Thanks to Ninetta for sharing your creative originality, 

to Fiona for altering my perspective, 

& Kersti for her wonderful forum  ...

((( HUGS )))

CONGRATULATIONS to all nominees & winners – your work is always an inspiration

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okay, okay, I'm going ..... ;-)