Tatting technique : Curled Rings Concept

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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 !

Universe is made

of swirls and curls

Not straight lines

but quanta and rings

Not flat and visible

but waves and strings

Not uniplanar

but 3Ds and multi-Ds

So here  is  Nin

With her Curled Ring 

and Floating Layers

In Modern Tatting !

muskaan

April 25, 2015

You’ve heard me talking (ad nauseum?!) about, & applying Ninetta’s Curled Rings these past few weeks.

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) 

	Martha  Ess’  Folded  rings	Ninetta’s  Curled  rings
1.	Fold made before ring is closed	Fold made after ring is closed
2.	Fold due to insertion of half sts	Ring is normal, all ds same
3.	A Segment(s) within ring folds	Entire ring folds in half
4.	Ring takes on diverse shapes eg. crescent, paisley, …	Ring shape remains constant ; after curl, a cup-shaped half circle
5.	Dimensionality negligent ; manifests thru’alteration of ring shape only	Clear & distinct dimensionality ; ring has ‘2 layers’ after fold

 

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 :-)

Related Posts : my 3D pendant & flower doodle
Morning Glory 3D flower calyx

Curled ring how-to with 3 options

more curled options & application

Tatting Pattern : Morning Glory 3D flower

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Morning Glory

A 3D Tatted Flower

An “extension” & 3D application of the Thérèse de Dillmont  Plate V, Fig 25 Motif which was modernized & diagrammed by Ninetta here

A freeform rings-only 3D flower that can be customized easily.

As I mentioned in my last post, this is an “Extension” of the original Dillmont Motif which Ninetta modernized & diagrammed. All I did was ‘extend’ the pattern in all dimensions : layer upon layer in the center ; lower layered ring extending beyond the one above ; extended petals under & over the layered rings ; and so on.

I managed to write up the pattern in pdf & upload it along with the post (scroll down), Yay ! Hence this post is more an album of photographs of the Morning Glory Flower from different angles, at various stages.

The Layered Center

For the first time in my tatting life, I actually used blocking ! I used blocking for the yellow center long picots. One of them was adamantly twisted. So I simply pinned the picots on a wet kitchen napkin & after a few hours, it was Great !!! Now I’ve lost my fear/hesitancy of blocking ;-D

These center rings, however, are a bit fiddly to handle .

Adding the Petals

Without Patty Dowden’s instructions, handling the large petal rings neatly & smoothly 

                          would’ve been impossible for me. And this time, I used Both the steps !

This flower measures just over 1"x 1"

  

Although the broad arch of each petal has 16ds, I might've made a couple with only 15ds. 

Adding all the "accessories"

Ninetta's Curled Rings were used to make the calyx & 

thread ends were encapsulated within the stem.

However, one long tail of pink thread was left uncut. This was used to make the Folded ring bud.

And again the pink thread was encapsulated within the stem.

One can safely say that this flower doodle is also a kind of Ring-play. Many different types of rings 

have been used in this all-ring pattern (all rings except for the stems !) : 
Layered, Curled, Folded, Large, …

For the tendril, an auxiliary thread was added. The ends were cut & frayed. The stitches in this long chain were tensioned just enough to get a kind of rolling twist. If sts are snugged more tightly,  we get a curlicue, as in the main stem.

This entire doodle does not require any blocking. 

The large rings, long chains & encapsulation hold their 3D shape very well.

It is extremely difficult to get a good perspective photograph of 3D freeform pieces. 

What I see with my eyes - the angle, the depth, etc. is not always captured with any fidelity !

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Click to download the pattern (pdf) : Morning Glory 3D flower Pattern

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UPDATE : I have changed the pattern link from Dropbox to Google docs for greater reach.  The earlier Dropbox link has been removed, altho' it will still work,  since the file hasn't been removed .

Tutorials for Layered Rings (links at bottom) ; for Curled Rings (upcoming)

Feel free to use the pattern as you see fit ; to tweak it, to overhaul it, …. play & enjoy :-) 

Would be nice, though, if you could drop me a line/comment showing me your work, if you do make it.

My sincere thanks to Ninetta & Patty

& to great masters like Thérèse Dillmont.

Motif #18/II for 25 Motif Challenge

Related Links : Layered Rings Part 1

Layered Rings Part 2

Tatting Tutorial : Layered Rings Part 2 and sneak peek

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Ninetta’s Layered Rings in Modern Tatting Part 2

Original Pattern : Thérèse de Dillmont  Plate V, Fig25.  (click for pattern details)

 

Many paths to the same destination, as Ninetta wisely said.

The way I interpreted her diagram was not what she had intended or done. But it worked! Later, when making the Part 1 tut, I followed the basic pædogogical principle : from easy to difficult, from simple to complex, so that tatters at any skill level would benefit. Hence, I started with reverse work in 1^st motif & later introduced the all-frontside tatting in 2^nd motif. But here’s the catch :

Ninetta’s method is the Simplest !!! I do apologize for the muddling up of sequence ;-P

In any experiment or trial, one should change one factor at a time, keeping all others constant. That is what I have done here, too : threads same, shuttles same, pattern same. The only factor to change is the method !

Please refer back to my previous tutorial here, for more stepwise pictures, if required.

Ninetta’s Method

(along with her Tips)

UPDATE : This involves tatting from front/top side only ! The entire motif can be accomplished with frontside tatting, without any need to reverse or turn work. (except when joining 1st petal to central floating ring).

 

“The mock picot between FR and SR should be of the same size of picots in FR. Then, when you join the first time, take care that the mock picot doesn't twist. It also depends on if you take the first or the last picot of the FR, I took the last.” 

 

 

“No matter if you start tatting front side or back side, if join one picot or two together, the result is quite the same I see.”

 

 

Additional tip: The FR size can be altered. If one wants to increase each segment of FR from 3 to 4, then the ‘hidden’ part of the petals (at start & end of petal ring) will also increase by 1 ie; from 2 to 3, before the petals are joined to FR. And so on.

Thus the central Floating ring segments should have 1 ds more than the petal.

Thank you, Ninetta, for sharing your tips, techniques, and expertise :-)

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Using Two Colours as a design element

So far, I used 2 colours in order to make the progression & sequence of working this pattern, clear. Now here is how 2 colours can be used as a design element in the same pattern.

Again, I am demonstrating only One of the ways, as an idea towards what can be accomplished … 

 

 

 

I think my petal picots should’ve been a tad longer to have the petals lay completely flat & avoid that slight upward/outward cupping or bulge in the centre. When I paid heed to it, you can see the difference in a flatter 2nd ring as compared to the first slightly bulging one.

If one continues, switching colours/shuttles for subsequent motifs along entire length, one will get a nice undulating braid effect. This would look good as an edging, insertion, on a doily round…

The same concept can be used to create other shapes including a square, circle, rectangle, hexagon, & so on. Eg. For a Square motif, one can use one colour on the inner half & the 2^nd colour on the outer half, thus giving a square-within-square effect.

I have tried not to miss out any tip or step. But am struggling with keeping my concentration (down with a viral infection). Hence, please don’t hesitate to point out any discrepancies or errors in the above.

And the pdf of these tuts will have to wait a while (“Again?!”, you say, “so what’s new” ;-P) till I am satisfied with the layout, etc.

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A peek into the next post(s) before I start Ninetta's Curled Rings tutorial series :

Extending the Pattern ...

Extending the Idea

with patterns to share !

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Happy Tatting :-))

Related Posts : Layered Rings tutorial Part 1