muskaan's T*I*P*S

Friday, 9 December 2016

all in rings

Sharing 2 more patterns . It’s all about rings this time, though the piece turns into a perfect square.

Inchies are 1 inch squares. I’ve seen them made with paper & fabric, but not yet with tatting. I Loved designing them. (How about Twinchies – 2 inch squares - next?)

And for photographic effect, in keeping with the season, they have been paced over baubles as embellishment. Now if only there were some beads in there !!!

Inchie - One

Download pattern pdf here

Most of the prototypes (& patterns) shared in last couple of months were created with This Way or Tat? in mind – I wanted something quick & small, incorporating the rules presented in TWoT diagrams. Little pieces that one could tat & explore with thread left over in shuttles. The difficulty level ranges mainly from beginner to intermediate.

Inchie One is a simple single-shuttle square with inward facing rings. Tension is important, though, to get the exact dimensions of a square.

The pdf provides details of tension, considering the difference in individual tatting, thread brands, etc. But it would be a good idea to draw a square or use a grid. Use this as a template to cross check while tatting.

Realised only now that I haven't even blocked this piece.

Pattern pdf for Inchie One

Inchie - Two

(a prototype)

Inchie Two can be worked with split rings, thus avoiding lock joins. But

the direction of the split rings would change – I wanted all rings to seemingly radiate from the center.
It would necessitate knowledge of working the split ring.
I wanted to see for myself the antique tatting style – I’ve been an admirer of Mme Reigo’s Bunch of Grapes !

For these reasons I chose to go with the old world style of tatting. Antique patterns use a needle to attach bare thread to picots, before the chain was invented; I chose to make a lock join where required. The lock join helps me manipulate the position of the small rings, without resorting to split rings, yet gives an idea of how directions & sides (front, back) change between elements.

Reverse Work (RW) between each ring.

Inchie One is tatted all from the front.

Inchie Two can be tatted using directional or frontside/backside tatting. The small rings can use reverse order of double stitches (RODS).

Take care to hide the bare thread behind the 3DS of small ring before joining to picot of that ring. This will remain hidden on the back side of the piece.

Also make sure that there is just enough slack to cover the distance – thread will show if too loose; tatting will warp if too tight.

This requires a bit of practice the first time.

In my sample, the rings to the right are properly made with the traversing threads carefully hidden. This really Has to be tatted again properly!

I like the old world charm here, but would certainly like to see how the SR one would look.

These are not glued down or secured - only inserted for a photo-op - an inspired idea last night !
I think both Inchies can be used as charms for bookmarks. Or they could be joined to make a larger fabric; or joined tip-to-tip to make a bookmark or a headband adornment. Or simply sew on as embellishments.

happy tatting :-)

Rings of Wool

Remember my August pinterest challenge? I took it a notch further and completed my wool yarn inventory this month ! That leaves only beads and related accessories, for which I bought containers last week.

These tiny crochet rings are all 6 Chain using size 13 or 2.25mm crochet hook, for consistency and comparison. Many of these are between 5-10 gms only, after their inclusion in my Memory Afghan.

That afghan used up over 60 colours/shades/yarns includig all my old stash (most of which did not even make the grade to 5gms !), and around 6-7 brands . That was part of the ojective - mission accomplished !
By the way, the afghan weighs 1.25 kg - not as heavy as my earlier ones. But oh so pretty!

I may be forced to hold off on commenting as well as a lot of my desktop work, coz now my keyboard is playing hookie! Have ordered a new one but will be delivered only next week ! Even this post has been corrected on my tablet. Many slip betwixt the cup and the lip !

HEYYYYY ! I'm back for a quick update. DH was chatting, saying I must've uploaded 100 posts & I said they are closer to 200. And guess what, when I checked, this is my 201st post ! In 3 years precisely. Not bad, eh?!

Tuesday, 6 December 2016

All in chains

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free chains-only tatting pattern and prototypes

Numerous circumstances have ensured that the last couple of months were fairly unproductive for me. I haven’t touched a shuttle for the major part of this duration. Even presentation and working at the desktop was limited. Well, backlog is about to suffocate me, but things are finally settling down ;-P

Hence, deviating from my usual style, I have decided to start sharing the patterns that were meant for Set II of the TWoT series, while I continue to work on the latter at an intermittent pace. I was so hoping to get all snowflakes & other patterns up before the holiday season, but the Grinch is at play; so proper pdfs may have to wait for a bit.

Bangle Enchained pattern is final & written on the picture itself for sharing at this point.

The other two are prototype doodles, with the pathway and main details notated. The stitch count can be personalized.

The last is an old prototype which I never got around to reworking again (hope to soon).

There are many personal firsts here !!!

Bangle Enchained

My first attempt at Tatting over a ring/bangle and embellished jewellery. Marie's (West Pine Creations) excellent Embellishment Tatting tutorial gave me the immediate impetus to overcome my dithering.

My design process - I had started with the blue one, but didn't like it.

Materials :

2 shuttles

Bangle

Gold Metallic seed beads – 10 per repeat

Anchor Mercer Crochet size 20 – 4054 00046 (red)

Anchor Embroidery Thread – 3 strands of M101 (gold!)

(Well, it’s supposed to be gold & my old skein is definitely golden. But these new 2016 skeins are closer to copper!)

Techniques:

Lock Join

SLT (shoelace trick) or Reverse Join

covering plastic (cabone) ring with tatting – Jennifer Williams & Jane Eborall

Block tatting – you can choose your favorite method of block tatting.

I covered the bangle with tatting - it was quite mesmerizing! There are tiny picots for the next round to join to. Covering is optional - one can join directly on to the bangle/ring as one tats, as seen in the design process pic.

I think the abbreviations are self-explanatory or can be referenced from the tatting model. In case of any difficulty, free free to ask.

To get the Oriental arch/curve in the block instead of a well-defined angular block, I used a combination of Julie Patterson’s and Patty Dowden’s methods of block tatting.

The only changes made to Julie’s instructions: instead of a 1 double stitch (or reverse stitch) riser before each chain, I used 2 half stitches

(two unflipped second half stitches when starting red chain ;

two first half stitches when starting gold chain)

Two similar half stitches causes the chain to fold slightly, thus decreasing the sharp edge of a block.

TIP : After the 3 beads are brought forward in the block, and lock joined, make SLT in order to switch shuttles IF working with 2 colours. In single colour, this step is not necessary.

Moreover, instead of (lock join & SLT), one can make a Reverse Join which is basically encapsulating the other thread when making a lock join. This automatically switches threads. It is what I used for my tatting.

Second shuttle was joined after covering the bangle.

The 3 strands of metallic embroidery thread tend to show a white inner core at times. Hence care needs to be taken when tatting.

I think this might look fine as a tree ornament, if suspended ?

Block Leaf (a prototype)

Recently I did a comparative & exploratory study of block tatting, and this leaf form emerged from it. It starts out as a regular 5-chain block of 6 stitches each, then moves down & around in a broadening V-shaped block, with CWJ at center. The stitch count increases as required. Reworking of stitch count is required to bring a few loose chains lie more compactly. The short stem is a chain folded twice using same half stitches.

Pathway is indicated with numbers & arrows on the picture of the tatted model, and the 2 colours used. After joining the 5^th chain normally, it continues down in the V shape …. I followed Martha Ess' excellent notes for the increase.

Snail Doodle (a prototype)

This coil is another first for me. Oh, I’ve made (and love) curlicues/dead end chains, but to make a closed coil using the CWJ and without any picots, was a first. Coils are also known as Catherine Wheels (and a gruesome story behind it), hence the name of join – Catherine Wheel Join. Other names for the same join – Dora Young Join, onion ring join.

I had fun making it in size 20.

Heart Block Doodle (a prototype)

Here’s a little puzzle for those interested … trace the pathway of this tiny Heart block doodle. I had tatted this back in 2014 – my 3^rd block ever (the first 2 are seen on the left side; I was following Jane Eborall’s tutorial) & when I was asked for the pattern recently it took me while to confirm what/how. Reworking & pattern will have to wait till I can pick up my shuttles, though I did find the starting stitchcount & diagram !
I had designed this for a very specific purpose - it was meant for the I Love Tatting doodle. Later changed it to a dimpled heart.

FYI – I got stuck during the process of changing my patterns & design page . Please consider a work still in progress. I had decided to change it in order to make space to accommodate all the patterns that will be included. I’m trying to make the pics thumbnails. Any help & advice is highly valued !

That's it for the present ... more soon :-)

happy tatting always :-)

Wednesday, 30 November 2016

whipPINg up …

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… a creamy frothy foamy edging around a surging sea of flowers & wooly memories !

Can’t believe it’s taken me this long to present my ta-dah post. Well, I can finally strike it off my list.

Although completed much earlier, I am entering this as my pinterest challenge again because it took me many searches through pinterest, many cloudy moments, many trials & errors to finally settle on what was the best or closest fit for what I wanted. It is also the first time I have done something like this in crochet.

My goal : Keep it simple, but keep the focus on the elegant curves & diamond points of each motif around the edge.

When my earlier ideas didn’t quite work the way I would’ve liked them to, another option dawned on me.

Let me walk you through the process & a few tips that work for me …

Border 1

I had some strong advice to go with lighter shades for the border. Always heed to experience & wise counsel. Decided to make the penultimate round all cream, with only a touch of colour. This made work so much easier ! I could crochet Round 1 all together; then choose the colours & crochet Round 2 ; then the cream for Round 3, attaching on the go.

This pic shows how much fun it was.

Sorry, no pics for the finished penultimate round. I was simply enjoying the rhythm and it was too cold to arrange & take pics. Also, I had begun working at a frenzied pace, coz I had to knit leg warmers before I could get back to tatting (major withdrawal symptoms ☺) Or maybe I just forgot!
Pics lower down give a fairly good idea of the penultimate round.

TIP 1 - how to remember colour choices

As I neared the last rounds of the project, colour choices & combos became more of an issue. Choosing colour combos for specific area took a lot of consideration. Then remembering those choices! I hit upon a simple way.

After selecting, I crocheted the 1^st round & loosely attached it to the adjacent motif where I wanted it. Thus I could cover larger areas quickly & fearlessly, spreading out the shades as much as possible.

Border 2

By now I knew what was required – a cream-only half motif to fill in the triangular space.

Never done it before, and didn’t want to have to cut after every single triangle. Solved it with a couple of trials. TIP : Always use the same yarn for final trial .

Made the 2 center rounds individually; keeping only half the pattern (in center of collage)

Then the last round was crocheted around, joining to the border, and continuing to the next triangle, all in one pass. After 220 motifs (not counting the triangles), each requiring tie & cuts & hides for each of the 3 rounds, this round was a breeze! I could finally crochet all the triangles in one pass !!!

I slip stitched around the corner motif, continuing with the next side till it was all done.

TIP 2 - how to store work safely

Large projects always require stops and starts over many days. Crochet stitches are very easy to unravel – one tug by a curious child or pet, and a whole day’s work may get lost! Here’s what I do to avoid any accidents.

Start to make a chain as usual but pull out a loop long enough to pass the entire yarn/thread ball through ; tension the loop just a bit so as to avoid snarls. That’s it. Even an accidental pull will only end up tightening the ‘noose’ into a stitch; it will never unravel the previous work.

When one is ready to pick up the project again, pass the ball backwards out of the loop & continue as per pattern.

I already delineated some of my tips on how to keep large projects clean when working over a length of time.

My Rainbow !

I’ve always admired Lucy’s cheerful colour palette & wished I had those many colours/shades. Well, guess what, I did !!!

This pic is only a slice – shades chosen from the already crocheted rounds. If I had the patience, the spectrum could’ve been much better. These motifs have the crochet hook inserted through their center.

Final Edging

I had bought this beautiful blue shade just a few weeks back, and it was perfect to rein in the creamy foam of the sea of flowers. 2 rounds of slip stitch (I think).

All ends trimmed

So that’s it. Ta-Dah ! Hoped to block the edge before taking pics, but didn’t get around to it. I can live with it, hopefully you can too ;-P

Pattern : Floral Fiesta Afghan by Maggie Weldon. My immense thanks to her for sharing this pattern ! I enjoyed every bit , including figuring out a personalised finish !
Total Motifs :
Main body - coloured : 12x18 = 120+36=156

Border 1 - complete motifs : 13x2 +19x2 = 26+38 = 64

Border 2 - triangles : 18+18+12+12 = 60

Crochet hook # 9 (3.50 mm)

Final dimensions : 44" x 64” ; 112cm x 162cm (approx)

Each motif : 2.5" x 2.5" (sides) or approx. 3.25" x 3.25" ( diagonals )

It’s already in use and is adding such a fantastic splash of colour & cheer ! Although many colours appear same or similar n the pics, in reality, there are differences, and many more shades are visible than in the pic.