“…where no man has gone before”
Okay, I may be exaggerating
here, true to ‘form’ ;-P But I have yet to
come across tallies other than oval/spindle & long tallies. Safe to say
that few tatters have gone this route.
Generally one comes across
tallies that have 3 raised & 2 indented lengths (2 veins), made on a 3-Warp
loom. It is also Oval or spindle-shaped. However, this is merely the beginning
& the loom is our means “…to explore new worlds…”. Let the Shuttleship
cruise over the Strings at Warp speed “…to seek out new…” shapes , forms, &
effects … “…to boldly go where no man
has gone before!”
As you are well aware, my execution is never up to the
mark. But I do hope the ideas shared here can be a launching pad for your
countdown to new horizons .
Playing with Shapes, Forms, & Effects
in Cluny
Tatting
The tally is no longer
a statistical mark, it is now a ‘Cluny’ing glory !
Multiple (4/5/or more) Warp
tallies are better suited for the angular effects, as well as to create many
other shapes & effects. They offer more scope to play around with shapes. For
Warp 4 & Warp 5 tallies, please refer my previous post &/or download the tutorials.
REGULAR GEOMETRIC SHAPES
(Polygons)
I started a tally-only
bracelet with the sole intention of playing with different shapes & forms.
And since I wanted to try out geometric shapes, I named it the GeomeTATic
bracelet/rakhi. As I made them, I became a bit better at managing the shape by
using little tricks, etc.
I. Flat Base/Tip Tallies
Eg. rectangle, square,
triangle, hourglass, bowtie, hexagon, ‘inverted’ triangle, right angled
triangles, ..
The base & tip of a tally
can be made flat with relative ease.
1. For flat base, keep the
end Warps separated during the 1st few weaves. Pack down & the
shape will stay. Similarly, for a wide ‘tip’, keep the end Warps at a distance
when finishing off the weaving. The distance between the end Warps will depend
on the width one desires.
2. Most importantly, when
closing – keep the tally in a firm pinch/‘clench’ & DO NOT over-pull the
closing loops. Tally edges have a natural tendency to curve when closing.
Pulling too tight will change a rectangle or square into a barrel. Hence pull
just enough to close all loops yet keep the ends flat & corners neat &
angular.
II. Angular Tallies
Eg. pentagon, hexagon,
octagon, kite, diamond, Christmas tree,
Geometric shapes include
angles ‘along the sides’. Some, such as a diamond, kite, or even a triangle are
fairly easy to make by adjusting the Warp distance during weaving.
It is the pentagon, hexagon,
octagon that I found troublesome; the angles tend to curve.
Problem solved by use of Slip
Knots in smaller sized thread. I used size 40 white thread slip knots.
To make it easier, after the
frame is ready (Warps are laid), make the slip knots & attach them to the
required Warps, usually the extreme ones. When the need arises for an angle,
simply bring the slip knot down to that point & continue weaving. After
tally is finished , hold the knot threads on either side & give a tug
outwards in order to pull out the angle slightly. Then cut off the knots.
I was successful in getting a good angular pentagon
& hexagon, but failed with octagon, although another attempt/practice might
have proved successful.
NOTE :
Penta- & hexagons require 1 slip knot at each of the end Warps; Octagon
requires 2 at each end Warp.
3D TALLIES
III. 3D tally with bead .
This is a fairly easy, very
basic application of both bead & Cluny
tatting. Load beads on any shuttle. Make
a tally. Bring bead forward before starting the next tally. When 2nd
tally is closed, Lock Join at base of 1st tally to get a 3D effect.
IV. Tally with Tatted Beads
This is still in a very
nascent stage – just an idea I played with. It could perhaps work for a cactus,
or tiny buds on a grass lawn !
Inspired by Ninetta’s tiny tatted beads. I didn’t
quite get the effect I had visualized, but then I was using size 20 thread.
However, sharing the potential & possibilities …
Collage.
Tat the beads on Weaver
thread, spaced out, before weaving the tally (I made them after I’d already started the tally!). Each ‘bead’ is
a ring of 3ds. Try Josephine knots for a better effect. Continue normal weaving
& close as usual
V. Curled Cluny
Leaves Warp 3.
VI. Curled Cluny
Leaf with Bead within
A) Hold bead on long loop of
Weaver shuttle in center of tally (notice half tally has been woven already);
B) hold with paper clip (safety
pin used in pic) ;
C) when closing, position the
bead, pass SH1 through loop over bead And through the base loop & pull
close as for curled tally.
FREEFORM SHAPES & EFFECTS
VII. Freestyle Leaf
In a normal Warp 3 loom, by
merely adjusting the space between end Warps, one can create an uneven edge. A
classic spindle/oval tally is made with an inverted triangle for base, a square
or rectangle for centre/body, topped by another triangle. Play with the weave
counts or the Warp distance, add more weaves to taper the tip, & one can get a
more natural leaf-like form. The ‘3D’ tallies in the Star Anise studs above,
are also made in similar fashion, hence no 2 tallies are identical.
All these images are from my very first attempts at Cluny tatting & need
a lot of refining.
The same technique can be
used to make a matka
(earthenware pot) or a fish !!! (matka
in lead photocollage. If the base is tapered, it can become a Fish !)
VIII. Split-end / Uneven tip Petal
(Same technique repeated for Arrow
…)
I wanted a split-end petal
for a particular flower I had in mind to tat later. Would it be possible with a
multi-Warp tally ?
A while back, Teri Dusenbury had advised me to “make
copious notes”. I try. I start off with gusto, then get so involved in the
tatting (or circumstantial interferences) that I forget to jot down the latter
portions, relying on my Excellent memory ! Yeah, it Always fails me ;-P Happened
yet again. I had very quick sketchy thoughts
mingled with notes of the trials, hence had to rework in order to confirm
before posting.
Trial A. Warp 5 loom. Stop 1st
pass (right to left direction) at Warp 3
& continue weaving between Warps 5, 4, & 3. Close as usual.
Failed – the long tip on
right curled inwards.
Trial B. Not quite sure what
I did here, except perhaps to close the tally less tightly than before.
Failed – I did get a stepped
effect (another experiment ?!) but not a good ‘split’.
Trial C. Make a reverse
stitch on the middle Warp where the split begins.
Failed – Still did not
address the length of Warp threads across. Au contraire, made them more
prominent.
Trial D. Finally wondered
whether ‘splitting the closing’ of loops would be possible. So, at the split
point, I pulled down loop 1 (at ‘C’) to close ‘AB’. Left it at that &
continued weaving on the remaining 3 Warps (3, 4, 5). It worked !
Trial E. Confirmation of
Trial D because I hadn’t jotted this
final trial down. Shown from front
as well as back – no thread spaces visible & a clear uneven/split tip seen
!!!
IX. “Rolling Lattice Leaf”
Combining Cluny tatting with Roll tatting can give a
lattice effect !
A Warp 5 frame was used since
I was working with size 20 thread & needed space for the lattice to show. Between
each roll tatted segment, I made 3 passes with weaver thread to bring shuttle
to opposite side. (2 passes make 1 weave. Refer table here)
TIP : After each
rolling segment, suspend the weaver shuttle to untwist.
(Another idea to try :
Make only 2 passes/1 weave between roll tatting segments, thus bringing weaver
shuttle back to same side each time. It should create an open fan or peacock
feather shape! But closing this uneven tally would probably pose a problem)
In latest trial, on a Warp 5
loom, Only 1 pass was made after each roll tatting segment, bringing the
SH1/weaver shuttle to opposite end. I got a 3D open lattice leaf when closed!
X. Rolling Cluny
Braid/Vine
But is roll tatting possible
on the central Warp(s) too?
This time, on a Warp 3 frame,
after every 3 passes, roll tatting was done consecutively on each Warp. I was trying for a 3D braid/vine effect .
XI. Hanging & Split Tallies on Warp 4.
Bead within a Heart - 3D effect
When I tried my very 1st
Warp 4 tally, the threads came out at opposite ends ! (see inset) I thought it
was a mistake, but as later research showed, it was actually a Split Cluny, but
3-veined !
Along the lines of the normal
Warp 3 frame, one can figure out how to make Split & Hanging Cluny leafs in
multi-Warp looms, too.
In image, I have used a Warp
4 Hanging tally on left side, placed a bead in the SH1 shuttle thread in center
& made another Warp 4 tally on the right side, thus encapsulating the pearl
between the 2 leaves. (HCL was required
to bring both threads to base; normal tally brought the threads back up;
auxiliary weaving thread for HCL was hidden within the right tally). And
both tallies are shaped like a Snake
Charmer’s flute : long narrow ends & broad circular centre.
TIP : When
making narrow ends, as in the flute (been/pungi)
above, keep them short. Otherwise closing the tally, especially if made on a 4
or 5 Warp loom, becomes quite difficult.
XII. Padded Tally
This was just a thought –
using multiple threads for each Warp of the loom – would it affect the look,
thickness of the tally? It didn’t alter the look by much.
But it has potential in
another application : 3-SHUTTLE TATTING & encapsulation !
If working with 3
colours/shuttles, one can hide the nonworking thread within the tally just as
one did for hiding the tail within tally here) but All 3 threads will emerge at the same/desired point, And keep the
veins balanced !
Thumb Rule : When
using the same thread, the number of ds in a ring = number of weaves in a tally
, to achieve same size.
Therefore a 16ds ring (8-8, or 4-4-4-4, …) can be
substituted with a 16 weave tally leaf !
FACTORS that may affect shape, form, appearance
·
distance between Warps
(slim/narrow or broad)
·
number of
weaves/wraps (short or long)
·
tautness of
weaves/wraps (loose or tight) – can affect appearance, width, & shape, as
well as closing the loom.
·
density of
weaves/wraps (closely or loosely packed down) – can affect appearance, especially
margins when loom is closed.
·
number of Warps
(width)
·
thickness/size of
thread for loom in HCT (width or central vein, if thicker thread used)
·
moving the outer Warp
threads while weaving can alter the shape, width, etc. giving unconventional,
freeform leaves.
·
Position of tally
on artificial loom : low down (pointy tips & slimmer tally) / midways
(ideal for classic tally shape) / high up (broad base & body)
·
I discovered that
thread plays a really important role here. A smooth sliding thread makes it easier
to close tallies, especially with multiple Warps.
My experimentation , though incomplete, halts here for the
present. I still have to try out 2-coloured tallies.
Dagmar Pezzuto has some intriguing patterns & techniques that I
will try out at some future time.
I thank you, my readers, for your patience in reading
through (if you have ;-P) … hope you found the ideas interesting ….
A few more resources :
UPDATE:
