Blue... Friday

I know I promised to write a bit more about the use of the bugles, but I wanted to do it with the right pictures and did not have the time. Yet.
I was in fact busy with finishing a necklace, a blue one. It stil waits for the last idea... The big tatting part is done, now the rest should come. And this is actually taking time.
Until I decide what pearls, what clasps, with chain or ribbon, I finished the thread from the shuttles. So I have a lot of small tests all with baby blue thread, with seed beads and bugles.

 

 

All here are tests. I am pretty happy with the flowers. They are actually not interlocked rings, it is simplier than this, but it has a nice effect. 

For the more "art deco" piece, I made a small pattern. It gives actually a nice pendant or earrings. If you skip the diamond beaded picot and join more of these elements, you can have a nice bracelet. I have to explore more... 

Back to the bugles... They are not as scarry as they appear. But you must pay attention: the edges of the holes are sharper as for the seed beads and sometimes they can fray the thread or cut it. Patience is needed. Or just add a seed bead at every end of a bugle bead. It does the job. 

This is the piece. It measures with my thread (like the 40 Lizbeth) 2,5 cm x 1,2 cm 

You need 1 shuttle, enough thread as for 4 small rings, 4 bugle beads and 4 seed beads. 

Fill the shuttle and string the beads as it follows: 

I marked how the beads have to be used while tatting too. Like this some of you can also follow a bit the logic af stringing the beads. Simple rule: the last ones to string are the first ones to use. 

Remember how to make the diamond beaded picot? 3 beads from the loop (or the second shuttle) + 1 bead from the core thread (the first shuttle). 

In the written pattern I used, among the usual symbols: 

|| :  bugles: one comes from the loop, the other one comes from the shuttle thread. 

 v : diamond picot, 3 beads from the loop, 1 from the shuttle. 

So... Make a loop with 1 bugle, 3 seed beads, 1 bugle. 

R1: 5 ds - || 8 ds v 8 ds  || - 5ds, close, do not turn. 

R2: 5 ds + 10ds - 5, close. 

R3: Take in the loop 2 bugles and start the ring: 5 ds +  || 16 ds  || - 5ds, close.

R4: 5 ds + 10ds + (folded join) 5ds, close.

My version will have the small pearl in the middle. And for the next ones, 2 cristal drops, more or less like this: 

Bugle snowflake

Do you remember the snowflake with bugles? If not, I help you, it was in this entry from November. The tattter attending the on-line tatting classhaev already a clue why I feel like coming back to this entry. This snowflake is part of the lesson fromt he 27th of November. Reason? Working with bugles.
Actually it is not that difficult. Just imagine you work with more than 2 seed beads. I admit, not that versatile, but definitelly, a lot of possibilities.

For a start: there are at least two tatting designers who worked with bugles. One is Frivole the other one is Sabina Carden-Madden. Sabina's wonderful candle snowflake is here. 

As for mine, I decided to make a sort of step by step turorial, at least for the critical phases of the nowflake. 

To begin with, there are 2 sizes a bugles, I used the 5mm ones. And there are normal bugles and the swirled ones (wich have a beautiful effect, on the tatting). Since they are so long, only one of them get on a fine crochet hook. This is the reason I use my "magic broken guitar string". 

 

Do you remember the pattern of the snowflake? 3 rounds. 

All you need: 2 shuttles (CTM if possible), 2 paper clips, this string, a hook. 

After the first one (just a ring with 5 picots with 3 ds in between. 

Round 2: start SR: Shuttle 1: 6 ds 2 bugles picot (secured with paper clip), 3 ds

Shuttle 2: 6 ds long picot (made with the thread from the shuttle), 3 ds, close ring. 

  

  

  

Now do not turn, make the 16 ds chain. 

Turn work, start ring: 3 ds remove paper clip from the long "bugled" picot, make join, work 6 ds, join the the nest picot from the first round, 6 ds, make new long picot, 3ds close. 

    

After this, you just repeat the sequences (chain 16, rings). 

  

After you make the final chain, make a lock join and start the round 3 with a chain.

Turn work and start ring with the first shuttle: 6ds, join in between the bugles, 6ds, close. 

  

Turn work, take shuttle 2 and make the trefoil Then the chain, make lock join...

Do you remeber about the swirled bugles I was talking about at the begining? This is the effect: 

These are just tests. I should make an entry only for the bugles in tattig. Tomorrow. Promise. 

Have fun.