applying techniques rakhi

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It's that time of the year again - Rakshabandhan is round the corner and Indian tatters are already posting lovely tatted rakhis. Here's my rakhi for 2020 ... AppliTech rakhi/bracelet!

The portmanteau 'AppliTech' refers to the fact that it is kind of a test or trial or experimental piece for applying a few techniques. It started as an observation piece for the Lock Join Plus methods as posted here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2020/07/lock-join-plus.html where lock join, reposition threads, SLT, and reverse join (and switch shuttle) were all used in batches, resulting in randomly placed colours on one side.

Then, in response to a question on facebook, I re-demonstrated what I had discovered last year - whether you hold the gauge above the core thread or below it (as in Ninetta's Tuft picot), provided it goes through the leg of half stitch, the final result is the Same!

All tutorial links here, including my study of picots (Interlocking, Mrs Mee, Tuft} - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/p/tatting-resources.html

I will share my detailed comparison in next post, along with more observations.

I continued on to make the 3rd Josephine Ring placing the gauge above core thread.
Each ring starts and ends with 1ds, and has a picot after every half-stitch.
Each JR is made of 20 1st half-stitches with a 5mm gauge.

Many of us have already come across this beautiful Lavender sprig by tatting_art on pinterest or Instagram and she has uploaded a how-to video here (thanks for sharing the link, Karen Cabrera).

Next, I started mock rings with treble tat stitch. I started each chain with an Intruding picot which served as the starting picot for first tds, also to join back the chain into a mock ring!

Why mock rings, you ask?! Because I did not know how big the ring should be, what the count should be.  With mock rings,  I had the freedom to keep 'bending the curve' to gauge the chain length.  Hence, no tds count. 

Close-up of the dimensional/stacked flower. Bead was added before starting the last mock ring, by pulling up a loop...

Continued with the Priscilla edging (Fig 29 from her Tatting Book 3), though this time I followed a symmetry in colour placement. Lock Join and Reverse Join are used in alternating chains to move up to the next chain. By direct tatting (unflipped/reverse stitches) every alternate chain, I could tat all from the front. No RW or turn work!
Added findings after it reached 7" length. Anchor Pearl Cotton size 8.

Perhaps with a bit more effort, I could work the 2nd part of the edging to face opposite, rather than appear continuous. But there are a lot more things on my over-full plate ;-P
See you soon ....

Oh, but before I go, Sue Fuller taught my 2017 rakhi (in March) and Bonds of Love rakhi/bracelet (in April? she liked the blue, red, white version) in the Online Tatting Class earlier this year. I didn't get a hold of the logs, though, so have no idea what transpired in the class ;-D

gauging the lie of the land

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(Common Threads III)

When making a picot in tatting, there are mainly 2 factors involved.

Which 2 factors ? – the half stitch(s) on either side of a picot and the position of picot gauge !

An interplay of just these factors can change the look and effect of the picot, as well as it’s functionality.

Comparing 3 types of picots here - interlocking, Mrs. Mee, & tuft - got me thinking about picot gauges. Gauge position was very interesting.

It started as a deconstruction of the 2 factors in various picot types we know of, but that is a Huge study and I’ve only just bit a small morsel at present and will require more time and concentration than I can manage at present. But keep an eye out …

For the present, I’m sharing only the various positions of gauges (that I know of. I welcome more input).

Picot Gauge in relation to Core thread

& where the stitch faces

Vertical v/s Horizontal

These are the standard options that we are all aware of.

I’ve used a 8mm gauge vertically and a ½in gauge horizontally.

Notice (in traditional tatting) -

In normal rings and chains the gauge lies above the core thread, whether it is held vertically or horizontally.

Vertical position -  picot has the hand (for ring) or ball (for chain) thread wrapped around both sides and we get the same size of picot as the width of gauge. Stitch is formed at the base of the gauge since gauge is at right angles to the core thread.

Horizontal position – the hand/ball thread lies across the entire width of gauge and the resulting picot is half the length of the gauge. Stitch is formed at the side of the gauge since gauge is parallel to the core thread.

Common practice is to RW – reverse work after a ring to tat the chain. But what if we don’t RW, and work the chain directly using unflipped stitches?

Carollyn pointed out an interesting aspect with beautiful pics here.

(in direct tatting)

If chains are tatted directly using reverse stitch ie. unflipped stitches in reverse order, then the gauge is held below the core thread, vertically or horizontally.

It holds true for reverse rings and 2^nd side of split ring as well .

This establishes that where the stitch faces while tatting decides where the gauge is held!

Picot Gauge in relation to Core thread & the Half stitch

Now let’s bring in one more factor – the half stitch where the picot is to be made.

In all the following pictures, I have used the 8mm gauge vertically.

Picot is simply a length of bare thread between 2 half stitches.

Let’s tackle the fhs - first half stitch first.

After 4 stitches, we want to make a picot followed by a fhs. Above pic shows fhs being formed. Let’s call the left part the arch which will be compressed into a picot, and the right part is the loop of the half stitch.

Gauge is held above core thread, under the arch.

Inset pics show the completion of the process to form 1 picot.

Gauge is held above core thread, through the loop.

Gauge is held below core thread, through the loop.

Similarly for shs – second half stitch.

Gauge is held above core thread, under the arch.

Gauge is held above core thread, through the loop.

Gauge is held below core thread, through the loop.

Can you identify the gauge positions for regular picots, interlocking picots, Mrs Mee picots, and the tuft picots that were described in this post ?

If this seems confusing, pick up some scrap threads and give it a quick try to discover the joy of versatility! And like I said, this is only a tiny glimpse into the beautiful world of picots.

Happiness lies at the Core of Tatting !

Stay happy stay tatting always :-)

a huff a puff and a tuft !!!

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Comparing Picots.

Did you miss me ? Yes ? I missed me, too !!!

When one’s head is in yo-yo mode, bobbing up and down – sometimes light sometimes heavy – one becomes mindful of being mindless! No ‘shuttle’ can transport you across and all one can do is play some mindless jigsaws on the tablet or read sappy stories.

So yes I missed me, my tatting, and most of all I missed You !!! Shutting out the net only meant I have much more to catch up on now (I read an occasional post, but couldn’t leave a comment). I apologise for these theatrics, and hope you will patiently wait as I plough through your emails and blogs in the coming days.

On a couple of good days I did manage to adapt a pattern into jewellery (first trials only) but that’s a secret for now. And I also figured out, on my own, a way to add beads exactly where I wanted them! Unbelievable.

Meanwhile, what’s a post without pics …

So Ninetta finally shared her Tuft Picots along with an excellent video demo & application ! I had the immense privilege of being the first to try them out – it was a quick tat where I tried to use them in chains and also compare them with interlocking picots (in size 40 tinted red sampler below). Served as a good study then.

But in her post she has also mentioned Mrs Mee’s Picots which I hadn’t tried before. So the new sampler in blue is a comparative study of 3 types of picots …. 

Comparative Study of Picots -

Interlocking Picots, Mrs Mee Picots, Tuft  Picots

Some basic characteristics are outlined below, along with direct link to tutorial :

Although samplers are rings, all these picots can be made on chains.

Size of thread doesn’t seem to matter. I’ve tatted them in size 40 & 20, and Ninetta in size 10.

All rings start with 4ds, p, 1ds followed by 8 picots using a 7mm vertical picot gauge, and end with 1ds, p, 4ds.

fhs – first half stitch ; shs – second half stitch ; ds - double stitch

Interlocking Picots (Ring 1)

·         Are long picots on a spiral or Josephine segment.

·         Here I made them between fhs.

·         Picot gauge is held above core thread.

·         The picots have a tendency to radiate & spread out, seen more clearly here  where the entire ring has picots.  

·         They, however, overlap or interlock with each other. Hence these are merely ornamental and cannot easily be used for joining later – there is a tendency for the cluster to distort if tugged.

Mrs Mee Picots (Rings 2 & 3)

·         Here the stitches are complete ds. Longer picots tend to twist. 

·         Picot gauge is held above core thread.

·         In ring 2, the picot is made while forming the shs ie. tat fhs normally, and form the shs around the gauge.

·         In ring 3, the picot is formed with fhs.

·         Notice the -

a)     change in direction of twist (see below)

b)     the stitch at base of picots. Ring 3 gives a complete stitch effect.

·         There is an even greater tendency to radiate outwards and each picot is separate. Hence joining new elements is easy, without any distortion.

Tuft Picots (Rings 4 to 7)

·         These picots are also made on a spiral or Josephine segment, similar to interlocking picots.

·         But the most important difference, and the unique feature of tuft process is that -

Picot gauge is held below the core thread.

·         Ring 4 uses shs between picots  ;  Ring 5 uses fhs

·         Notice –

a)     the interlocking/overlapping of picots

b)     their tendency to clump together – a neat outer line is visible (especially if picots are shorter).

c)     the illusion of ring being smaller than in previous ones

·         Not good for joining as tugging causes distortion.

These separate pair of rings above with only tufts are 6ds, 12 picots using ¼inch gauge, 6ds. But these 12 picots are a combination of tufts in 4 & 5. viz, …

·         Ring 6 has a combination – first 6 picots use shs, followed by 6 picots with fhs.

·      Ring 7 – order is reversed – 6fhs picots followed by 6shs picots. And I deliberately left some extra space when switching, giving it a crested effect.

Besides the joining/not-joining issue, these picots do consume lots of thread. More importantly, blocking them would probably pose some colourful situations - haven't attempted it yet ;-P 

Amazingly, I found Mrs Mee picots the most difficult to tat because every alternate half stitch has a picot and I had to retro-tat many times due to forgetfulness/errors.

For tuft picot, it is fun to 'lift them up' to the edge of the ring/chain - sometimes they simply want to 'lie low' ;-p

It would be interesting to see how these picots look if used all around a ring !

In general, though,

·         regular picots 'stand straight';

·         interlocking picots tend to radiate but overlap;

·         Mrs Mee picots radiate even more but remain single & perhaps with a twist;

·         while tuft picots tend to converge. 

And Floral or Ruffled Picots give us a picots facing inwards and outwards ! These have 2 same half stitches between each picot,  alternately.

For more on Tuft Picots and their possible application, please read the very talented and innovative Ninetta’s complete post. 

And many many thanks for always coming up with something new & fun,

and sharing with us lesser mortals :-))))

UPDATE (Aug 23, 2017) : check out images for all the different positions of picot gauge ...

UPDATE (July 2020) : See effect of these picots in Josephine Rings - 

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2020/07/picoted-josephines.html
 

do it with a huff, a puff and numerous tufts !!!!

happy tufting :-)

Some more interesting picot effects/techniques :

Ikuta's Overlapping Picots & my free floating Twisted Picots (TwP) 

Ninetta's Vapor Picot ; 
Floral or Ruffled Picots