A new CKP voyage

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When the class material for March 14 was posted, I grabbed hold of the opportunity to try my first CKPs. No, this is not Vulcan for ‘Live Long and Prosper’, although I do wish the same for all you wonderful readers :-)

Welcome aboard …

STAR TREK BANGLE*

Patricia Lyn Cobb

* click for pattern; pdf from class material link

Threads : When trying out something new, I prefer size 20 thread.

Anchor Mercer . Art 4504. Copper/Burnt Sienna – 0896 ; Dark Yellow – 0289

Metallic wire/thread in copper & silver.

Measurements :

Inner Circle : ¾”  ;  Outer Circle : < 1½” ;  1¾” with CKP

Techniques I used :

Celtic Knotted Picots (CKP), Split Rings, picot gauge for CKP, Catherine Wheel Joins, S-Chain, S-Chain with picots.     

One can climb out from inner circle with a SR or a double core SSSR, but this time I followed the simple route of cut & tie.

I love the use of CKP – a lacy way to cover negative space, and join 3 elements together !

When not adjusted/opened, the outer CKPs produce a single-picot angled effect which can be used creatively in an ensuing round !

TIP : While making the CKPs, in order to hold each loop in place, I had cut out little card stock picot gauges that I left inserted till joining was required (forgot to take pics).

Since the CKPs needed to be blocked, in order to keep them open, I inserted spacer pins. These weighed down the medallion & made a Lovely carousel. Photograph does not do justice to the fun transformation. 

TIP : One can add beads to the CKPs or chains of beads all around to weigh down the medallion; add findings above & Voila, one has a jhumka earring ! Or use as decorative tree ornament.  

The outer CKPs definitely called for blocking before I could proceed further. And this time, a rolling pin would not work, since each loop had to be opened & pinned individually !

I didn’t have a bangle of required diameter & was too lazy to look for a substitute. Instead I tied 2 metallic wire threads, joined them to one CKP loop & tatted an S-chain of 10 stitches, 1ds in next CKP loop, 1picot, 1ds in next loop of same CKP. Continue. 

To finish off, I continued with an S-chain with picots between spaced-out stitches. This can hopefully be used as a tree ornament.

TIP : The stitch count was arrived at by marking the distance between CKPs on a paper & drawing a straight line between them since I wanted a hexagon.

After 3 sides were tatted, I panicked, thinking that the hexagon sides were too tight. So 2 sides on the left have 12 stitches in the S-chain, hence the curvature.

What I don’t like is that the weaving overlap of outer CKP loops is not clearly visible. Maybe another stitch would help separate the loops ?

Before using the S chain with picots, I did a quick trial with the metallic wires. The first part (on left) has closely snugged stitches, while the latter half has stitches pulled apart by the distance of each picot.

This gives a mock Pearl Tatting effect, using only 2 threads.

I really enjoyed tatting this little medallion - worked in just one sitting - & converting it into a hexagon. Love the Celtic Knotted Picots – both for their effect and their multi-utility. They are a bit fiddly, though, & I may be wary of using them with size 40 thread. But who knows what lies beyond the horizon, in the vast galaxy !

Thanks to Patricia for her lovely pattern and don’t miss her delightful allegorical tutorial of the Catherine Wheel Join here. 

Lining up the Chains

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Bored with the same old chains ?

Looking for some new chain effects ?

Stumped or can't remember which chain is which?

Fall in line but don't yank my chain !

I fell. I fell hook, line & sinker.  

Elgiva threw me the hook, Sharon followed a persuasive line, & Susan got the concept to sink in !

Looking back I have already used many chain effects in my various patterns (some without knowing the names), yet I keep getting confused when a term crops up & I have to hunt down the tutorial. Hence a sampler reference , along with stitch notations of how it is worked seemed like a good starting point.

I share it here, as a pdf for anyone who is interested. In case of any omissions of errors, please let me know so that it can be rectified post haste.

Design Element : Line

Tatting Element : Chain

Chains in Shuttle Tatting (click to download pdf)

All tatting is done using Anchor Mercer Crochet Cotton in size 20. Thread size, brand, & tatter’s own tension can bring in individual differences. Hence the sampler is indicative only.

Bullion Knot

There has been some confusion regarding the working of a Bullion knot. For starters, please refer to any Roll Tatting tutorial.

A bullion knot is a small roll-tatted ring, without any stitches, and a limited number of wraps/rolls.

It is started like a ring, with thread around the hand; but instead of making DS, one simply starts to wrap the shuttle thread around the thread on hand, & transferring these to the core/shuttle thread. 

I do this simultaneously : wrap by taking shuttle through loop front to back & in same fluid motion tensioning the thread around left hand so that the wrap gets transferred to core thread. I don’t wait to wrap a few times then transfer or snug. But this is an individual choice (I don’t even add DS in my roll-tatted rings & chains).

After about 10 wraps maximum (depending on requirements & thread size), close the ring carefully. Depending on the extent of closure, the bullion knot can look like #15 or #16 above.

I used #15 style in my Hibiscus Doodad here. 

This knot takes some practice; if pulled too tight, it will distort or create bare thread spaces; if wrapped too tight, the ring won't close easily.

Karen Cabrera sent me these 2 links for Bullion knots earlier this week :

MaryM's Original Daisy Bullion Edging. This is how a bullion knot looks. It is a cro-tatted edging & she has crocheted the bullion segment.  

Ruth Perry’s Bullion Stitch Cross. This is an excellent effect with many possibilities. However, it is not a ‘true’ bullion knot (going by even embroidery & crochet terminology). Along the length of the taut thread(s), a half stitch is being wrapped in the manner of an encapsulated Josephine chain (refer to #24 but instead of complete stitches, only unflipped half stitch is wrapped). It is a form of Dora Young’s knotless bridging/split chain.

Omissions/Errors in document (page 2 above) : 

i)  #29 & 30 - Include the term ‘Floating Chains’ for Curlicues – please add it if you download/print.

ii) Sampler #24 has been glued incorrectly, The caps of stitches in the encapsulated chain should be facing downward.

iii) #27 & 28. Please note that the core threads are different.

There are limitations to this sampler – coils & rosettes are not included ; braids with complete rings are not included ; no decorative picots or elements are added ; mainly straight-line chains have been lined up.

Chains in Shuttle Tatting : This pdf contains 4 pages - p1 & p2 with 30 samplers & stitch-count; p3 with glossary, notes & resource links; p4 with images of chains applied to tatting - both in 2D & 3D patterns.

The list is a compilation but by no means exhaustive. It is a point in time & the line will continue to evolve.

Each chain has it’s unique characteristics & applicability. It is a journey of discovery. It is also a good exercise down the line from beginners to designers.

Happy tatting & discovering :-)

Related Posts : Bullion Knot in 3D pattern

No bull(ion)ying over tatting

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Being Knotty !

Last night, after 2-3 days sans tatting, my fingers itched. And I went back to my comfort zone of free-form 3D. It is an original practice piece to study a few techniques which were being discussed in the Design Class last morning. 

While trying out the bullion knot, the bunched-up knots reminded me of Hibiscus pistils, which led to this 3D flower. Yet another path to pattern designing !

I wanted to take full pleasure in tatting, hence did not jot down exact stitch-count. What I share below is as close an approximation as I remember.

It does, however, follow my design objective of off-center, in the petals.

This is a good shuttle-emptier doodle.

Tatted Hibiscus Doodad 

PATTERN 

Materials 

2 Shuttles, scrap threads (size 20).

3 strands of Anchor variegated embroidery cotton (1315 - peachy) ; Anchor size 20 Art 4054 (0293 lemony yellow , 0256 Mehandi Green) .

Measurement  4 cms long

Resources & techniques used

2-shuttle tatting (floating/thrown rings), Bullion Knot & Dots, Roll tatting,  

Josephine Knot, Josephine Chain, join last ring to 1^st ring, graduated decorative picots, encapsulated Josephine Chain, Frayed ends, Ninetta’s Curled Rings 

Join the peach & yellow threads. It is not essential to hide ends. With Peach, make 3 rings-only petals of different sizes & joined irregularly.

Flower :

R1 : 3ds, vsp, 5 graduated picots sep by 1ds, vsp, 5ds.

R2 : 5ds, join to R1, 2ds, 7 graduated picots sep by 1ds, 2ds, vsp, 7ds.

R3 : 7ds, join to R2, 2ds, 8 graduated picots sep by 1ds, 2ds, join to R1, 3ds.

Before closing last ring, make sure both shuttles are on the top side of the petals, in order to make the pistil.

Pistil :

JCh to desired length. At random points, make Bullion knots of 10 wraps with SH2 (yellow). Do not close the knot completely. After 5 or 6 knots, & desired length reached, tie both threads together, leave a short length & cut. Then fray the tails.

Join green thread (wound CTM) to base of flower.

Calyx :

Ring : [1ds, p]x10, curl through any middle picot. 
(( Ninetta used a curled ring calyx in her lovely strawberry bookmark. That's what I tried  ))

Stem :

Continue with Josephine Chain, encapsulating any tail threads from the beginning of the flower & pistil, randomly placing leaves along the length.

Leaves :

Leaf 1 & 2 are ‘Dots’ & floating (made with 2^nd shuttle) :

R : 4ds, close.

Leaf 3 & 4 are Josephine Knots/Rings

JR : 8 half stitch, close.

Continue with stem for a bit. Tie ends & cut & hide.

My Thoughts on Bullion Knots, Dots & Josephine Rings/Knots 

Please refer to this article.

Bullion knots are basically small rings of Roll tatting, in formation. 

In hand embroidery, what French Knot is to Bullion Stitch ; in tatting, Bullion Knot is to Roll Tatted ring (which is usually larger). A tatted bullion knot looks very similar to an embroidered bullion stitch,  where instead of a needle, the thread is wrapped around the core/shuttle thread.

To compare within tatting, Bullion Knot is similar to Half-closed ring or Scallop to look at, but with wrapped thread rather than stitches.

Segment H in I Love Tatting doodle was a long line of bullion knots which twisted on itself.

I used the latter in my NeoVintage Heart.

TIP : Following a tip shared by Patty Dowden in Craftree, I no longer add a DS at the start or end of a roll tatted element. I believe a DS is not a definitive part of roll tatting ; it is merely a means to ease the closing of a ring or perhaps to add a picot. I have used DS-free roll tatting chains in my Tiny Heart Poppy petals.

Dots are regular rings with complete stitches, but small in size. The DS is limited to 4 or 5, & when closed, the rings appear as ‘dots’.

When the dots are made of only half stitches, not complete DS, then it becomes a Josephine knot/ring.

Dots of 4DS turned out to be smaller than a JR of 8hs !

Bullion knots can be closed tightly or one can leave some bare thread space (as in scallops). This will alter the visual effect. If closed completely, these are the smallest in size.

happy tatting :-) 

Related Posts/Patterns : bullion knot string in doodle

half-closed rings/scallops in a line element

roll tatted chain

dotted snowflakes 

dotted snowflake pattern pdf