who knew

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 ... who knew a fruit stand or fruit bowl would emerge from an edging pattern! Who knows what a designer's imaginative eye can see?!

Endrucks' n.3 edging pattern gave rise to 2 square motifs and now the seed has sprouted a fruit bowl, thanks to Paola Bevilacqua. Recently she shared her prototype, with sketched pattern, in our Endrucks 1920 Project Facebook group and the very next day she tweaked the count and posted a beautiful new version with modified count, in stepwise pics and diagram. It immediately caught my fancy and I quickly tatted it up.

This is fresh off my shuttles, unblocked. And I was trying not to snug the chain stitches too tightly, resulting in uneven lengths on either side. Lesson re-learned: snug tightly; you are no good with loose tension ;-P Or, apply Anita's tip to measure the chain but using a grid paper background to assess the curve as well.

As I worked the motif, so many minor details emerged making me truly appreciate the thought Paola put in!

My Thoughts/Notes -

1. I started at the leftmost single ring.

2. Techniques: 2 shuttle tatting, fs/bs tatting, thrown/floating rings, changing the direction of a chain, inward picot, lock join, mock ring using a lock join.

(refer to pic below)

3. Inward picot - the orange arrows show where I used a folded chain to flip a picot down - set-a (picot, 2fhs) and set-b (2shs, p) because I wanted a bit of space before the thrown ring. At other places I used a paper clip.

4. There are 3 types of paired chains! 

    BT: worked as block tatting - parallel chains where the new chain lies above the previous one and a lock join is made through picot; 

    BBT: worked as block below tatting - parallel chains where the new chain lies below the previous one and is joined normally through an inwards picot;

    regular chains: where the stitches face each other and the chains are joined normally. Now here's an idea for yet another Block Tatting effect !!!

5. Tiny Mock Ring -The yellow star is another important designer detail. This is a 3ds chain lock joined at the base to form a mock ring. Now if it was a SCMR, we would've had a clear point/break/dip in the chain's inner edge. By using a lock join, the picot creates a kind of continuum with barely a break in the inner edge!

I should add small mock ring to my Mock Ring series since the visual effect is different from that of  larger mock rings

6. Pointed Chain - The small green ring is where I tried to make a 1ds SCMR to create a point, and failed miserably, forgetting that the chain turns course at that point. 

Hence I followed Paola's example for the left one, switching shuttles and reversing/turning work to continue. The point is more marked here. 

Other methods to make a pointed chain - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2019/04/happy-tatting-with-old-and-new.html , and more options for changing the curve in chains - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2019/09/changing-chain-curves.html

In Anchor size 20, it measures 10.5cm x >7cm at the extremes. I rummaged and found these 2 daisy picot flowers to add some colour and density. When I tat this again, I'd like to add lots more colour and picots for a bowl of flowers, and/or strategically placed beads to enhance the effect! 

It could well be a trophy, too, right?!

This is very appealing to applique or glue to a card topper. Otherwise it needs stiffening to hold it's shape. Of course the bowl outline can be padded tatting (either BDS or inserting extra core thread). Perhaps some graduated treble tatting, too, especially at the base!

Many many thanks, Paola, for stretching the boundaries!

Please don't go by my sub-par model.... once we have her permission, we can put her model and pattern in our Project doc here -

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17LEVftXweztBIOWh4sL4BB7bX65ssoOsOn4oXIgCepY/view

bridging gaps

Pin It now! I have some great news! Our Endrucks 1920 Project will be featured in the February issue of ‘Talking Tatting’ issue 50! Along with a short bio of Frau Endrucks and the doily E28 pattern (modernised version), all by Judith Connors. This is a quarterly newsletter of Queensland Tatters, Australia.

 

[E28 pattern PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vG2g0JCVsy8cy2DfGKHEhxleq_7Rveba/view]

While this doily has already been tatted by several others, they referred to the diagram rather than the text. Hence it was left to Judith to point out a couple of errors, which are now corrected in an updated pdf.

Impeccable tatting from the inspiring teacher, researcher, and historian who was honoured with the Order of Australia Medal last year! And as you can see, she has managed to retain the octagonal shape of the doily after blocking.

We discovered that my tatting tension is way too tight! Worked in Coats No 40 cotton, Judith’s doily is 9cms in diameter to my 7cms in Anchor No 40 (which is also a Coats subsidiary).

“My tension varied from yours in places. I managed the fluting, and when I blocked the mat it turned out to be quite octagonal.” – Judith

Alternate Path: “I worked it completely from the front side, not as you have suggested for Rounds 5 and 6. This means that the small rings of Round 5 were tatted in RODS (with a posting of the shuttle before closure).” – Judith

While enlarging the pic for posting, I noticed another thing about Round 5 in Judith’s doily. It appears the chains on either side of the ring are 8ds each instead of 5ds, creating a graceful arch instead of a flattish line.

Bridging/Mock Chain and Split Chain: Several ways to climb out of rounds for continuous tatting are indicated in this pattern pdf. However, Judith pointed out that what I termed split chain to climb out of round 4 is actually a bridging chain (b-Ch) and I should use this as a “teachable moment”. Got me thinking and this is how I see it:

The technique was invented by Dora Young for rings and then applied to chains – the knotless method (km or KM). Decades later, the term split chain caught on and became more popular. But the stitch and movements are the same in both – mock stitches or tied/manoeuvred stitches.

A Bridging or Mock Chain is functionally and structurally the same as a Split Chain. Each chain spans a space and emerges at a point to the left instead of the far right, and is made over a bridging or foundation thread. 

The difference lies in the Where the threads emerge/exit or where the point of climbing out is. A bridging chain is made completely of mock stitches and threads emerge at the ‘beginning’ of the chain. A split chain, as the name suggests, is split - partially made of double stitches and partially of mock stitches. Thus, the threads in this ‘hybrid’ chain exit somewhere along the length of the chain, not at the start.

Among the several beautiful versions of this doily tatted by enthusiastic lacers, I would like to show Stella Marina’s version in lovely metallic threads because it is yet another example of how we can alter our path. In a moment of distraction, Stella forgot to tat the 2 large twin thrown rings in Round 3. Instead of cutting back, she continued. She then tatted them as normal rings, facing inward, in Round 4! This happened by accident, but could easily have been a deliberate choice to make the rings red instead of silver. Planning ahead gives us so many bridges to cross smoothly!

Now I want to tat the doily again and bridge all my gaps!

UPDATE (Nov2025): In Mar2022, Daniela Galli mistakenly tatted only 5 repeats of the E28 doily leading to a lot of cupping, which she converted into a cute little gift box. More pics and details - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2025/11/ep-medley-2.html

 

Many many thanks to Judith and Stella & Daniela - keep inspiring!

Related Posts/Resources –
For more tutorials and details scroll down to Techniques & Effects » CHAINS » Split Chain/Dora Young Knotless/Bridging https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/p/tatting-resources.html
Knotless Method in split SCMR - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2018/10/scrappy-doily-and-scmr.html
https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2021/07/continuous-paths.html

https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2021/10/bagatelle-to-bagaball.html

Pattern: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17LEVftXweztBIOWh4sL4BB7bX65ssoOsOn4oXIgCepY/view

more multiples

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 I couldn't resist! Lea Rako (of AlenAlea fame with her gorgeous hand dyed threads and patterns) turned an edging into 2 square motifs by turning it outwards and inwards! The pdf will soon be uploaded to the project doc and I will update the link here.

I tired it with colours. The insert is an optional variation to Square #1 for those who do not like large open spaces.  

This is how the square looks without the insert. I don't mind it at all. In this pattern, the edging is turned outwards and the motifs look like an open lotus to me.

This is how the edging is, which I tatted back in August. Anita Barry modernised the pattern and presented the pattern in modern style. I shared her beautiful sampler and direct pdf link here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2021/09/700-and-promises-still-to-keep.html. And of course, you can access it from the main document.

 

I loved playing with colour positions, using repositioning methods (I don't exactly remember which was used where) - See Lock Join Plus series. I haven't cut off the threads, wanting to play some more in future. There are so many more possibilities!

In Anchor Pearl size 8, this measures 2.5cms across and 3cms diagonally. Good for a mug coaster.

Imagine the edging turned inwards; the triad lying inside and a few elements added to span the distance. That is the 2nd square pattern included in her pdf. 

Lea also tessellated the squares into a beautiful fabric! For both squares, Lea indicates the joining picots when tessellated. 

And before I sign off, Eye Spy yet another heart!!! It will require a bit of juggling to get a smooth outline since the 2 side rings tend to lie beyond the outline. Worth a try, though, right?

Endrucks 1920 Project link for all patterns and derivations - https://docs.google.com/document/d/17LEVftXweztBIOWh4sL4BB7bX65ssoOsOn4oXIgCepY/view

Thank you so much, Lea, for sharing these beautiful squares!