Pattern for Nicole

Definitelly, writing a pattern takes a lot less than the tatting of the same piece, I count here also the miss-tatts for a piece one makes for the first time.
I got bored of snowflakes. They are all beautiful but I was missing my pieces.
I had an idea haunting me since quite a while: to combine the tatting with beads with the Ankars. You can say it is nonsense, it is already done, Ankars is anyway tatting with beads. And you may be true, I could not say, I did not find in the little information about the AnkarsI found this kind working with beads.
Neverdeless, I worked this necklace with those 2 ideas combined. The white pearls are tatted in, the rest is sewed in. I could have added the small Toho 15 sead bead while tatting. Next time.

You may say it is inspired from the work of Maranta. It is not. When you will see the pattern, you will see why. 

The lace
I worked this one with poliester thread (size 40) from Brildor, strand of 3.
2 shuttles, white 3 mm pearls, paper clip.

You will have to be accustomed to work with pearls/beads secured with paper clip, so make sure you have what you need at hand. One element of the pattern, with my thread measures 3,5 cm. You will have to count 2 pearls for each element. You will work the desired lenght, so you will have to prepare the necessary pearls.
In the pattern I marked with green the bigger ring to make it easier for the count of the doubles stiches. It has no relevance for the motiv.

Start ring: 15ds place pearl, secure with the paper clip, 15 ds, close.

Start ring underneath the smaller ring: 15 ds join to the pearl, 10 ds place next pearl with paper clip, 25, close, turn work.

Chain: 35 ds (or as long as you like it to go around the bigger ring), remove the paperclip, make lock join.

Start chain: 10 ds, turn work.

Start ring: 7 join to the previous join (above the pearl) , 4ds – 3 ds, close, do not turn work.

Start ring: 3 + 7 + (at the other side of the pearl) 12 – 3, close, do not turn work.

Start ring: 3 + 4 – 7, close, turn work.

Chain 10 ds, lock join at the free picot from the trefoil.

Start over.  

You will want to let the picot where you place the second pearl a bit looser... after all, you will have to make 2 joins from 1 side and and 1 other one on the other side of the pearl. Like this the chains do not overlap the rings. 

If you encounter some problems in working the pattern, just let me know. 

The beads

This is up to you completelly. I choose Christmas theme, but sky is the limit with the colour combination. 

Have fun with it. 

Snowflake swirl

Got the simpliest pattern ever and played with ds combinations. Added some sparkle to it with some seed beads. Now I have a cute, easy-to-do snowflake. I guess, after Christmas I will just refuse to tat with white thread. Until then, I still have to do it.

When I say that I combined the ds, I mean that I just added to a normal 10ds chain 3 times the sequence of 8 half stiches. Yup, the Josephine chain thingy. As simple as that: 8 hs, pass the shuttle over the theard, work the next 8 ones... and so on. Foir my Frecia 12 thread, 8hs did it ok.

I used 2 shuttles for 2 reasons: the ring on top of the chains and the fact that when I was working the Josephine chain I noticed that the thread was twisting, so I had to unwind. No real need for the second shuttle to make the floating ring, but I dare you to do unwind the thread of a bal (without placing everytime a clip... ) and loosing time.

So.
Start ring: 10 - 10, close, turn work
Start chain: 10 ds, make the Josephine sequence, do not turn work.
Take the second shuttle, make the floating ring: 12ds, close, do not turn work.
Take the first shuttle, make the Josephine chain section, 10 ds, lock join to the picot of the first ring.

Start ring.. Repeat until the star is done.

When i finished, I let a bit of more thread to sew my seed beads.

I kind of like the combination of the 2 chains toghether. The normal one makes a nice arch, the Josephine chain gives a nice pointy touch. My TOR are a bit bigger than in the given pattern. Feel free to change the amount of ds as you like it better. Nothing can go wrong.

Talking about learning: My husband asked: "Can't you make a snowflake more like a snowflake?" When he draw it I froze: RING ON RING! I searched, I found it, I made some practice of the LTROR (Thank you, Karen,.. again and again) ... As scarry as it is at the first glance, when you have the shuttles in the hands it makes more sense. Got it. Brave (or stupid) as I am, I added beads on the thread... My first piece gave me some trouble, but I managed to finish it: it really sparkles in the light:

Now I just have to put some starch on this one.