Dragonfly pattern

Now that the teacher in me knows that there is no step obmitted, I can post the pattern for the dragonfly.
Skills required: shuttle tatting, split rings, tatting with beads, optional.
It is a 2 shuttle project. The daring ones can also do it with 1 shuttle (Single Shuttle Spilt Ring).

Rough pattern:

R1: 12 ds.

R2: 8 / 8, cl, dnrw.

R3: 10/10, cl, dnrw. 

R4: 12 / 12, cl, dnrw. 

Sh. 1: R5: 25 - 15, cl, dnrw. 

Sh. 1: R6: 15 + 45, cl, rw. 

Sh. 2: R7: 25 - 15, cl, dnrw. 

Sh. 2: R8: 15 + 45, cl, dnrw. (or reverse, it is optional, but then choose the right shuttle)

Sh2: R9: 12 vlp 4 vlp 12, close, rw

Sh. 1: R10: 10 vsp 10, cl, rw. 

Sh. 2: R11: 10 + 10, close, cut, hide ends. 

Of course you can vary the ds to suit your thread. I worked it with something similar to the Lizbeth 40, so it is not too big. If you work with cotton, then you should definitelly re-think according to the maximim of the ds you can make for a ring. Or you trick it nicelly ad work chain, but for this, re-thinking of the beads sequence is necessary. 

Beaded variant: 

For this one, I strung on the shuttle 1 the beads for the antenae (as in this previous blog entry). 

Start stringing the beads: Shuttle 1: the 2 feeles then 11 beads , Shuttle 2: 11 beads. 

The result: 

In this case it is very important to work R9 with the Shuttle 1. 

For the purple variant: 

String the beads for Shuttle 1: the feelers + 24 beads, Shuttle 2: 10 beads. 

Between the split rings, you add the beads as described in the previous blog entry.

bs: bead brought from the shuttle (stays on the core thread)

bp: beaded picot

R1 (with 2 beads in the loop) 3ds bs 3ds bp 3ds bs 3ds close ring. 

R2: as described... 

R10: 3ds 7 bs sep by 2 ds, 3 ds close ring. 

Adding the beads, cristals is entirely up to you. My dragonfly will end up as a brooch. 

I have to thank Marisa di Mauro, she tatted the dragonfly only from the rough pattern, without having the ds given. Here is her variant. 

Happy tatting. 

Bits of technique: split rings with beads in between (diamond shape)

I am normally not too much into the theory, but because I want to post here a pattern (the dragofly), I really need to make this intermezzo.
Remember this set?

The middle part is just rings with the pearl ont he thread. This is not interesting me now. What I need are those split rings with the beads disposed as diamond in between. 

Long story short: it is a 2 shuttle project, CTM is perfect. You have to string beads on both the shuttles. Shuttle 1 will have, as a proportion, 3 times more beads as Shuttle 2. All the ds given are just for the sake of the demonstration. In the diagramms the beads have 2 different colours just to show from which of the shuttles are coming the beads. 

Shuttle1 : start ring with 1 bead in the loop: 16 close. The bead will stay on the core thread at the closing point of the ring. 

Shuttle 1: take 3 beads. 1 bead will come next to the ring, make loop with the other 2, work the first half of the SR (8ds). Lower 1 bead from the loop at the base of the ring, keep it in place. Take Shuttle 2, bring from this shuttle 1 bead at the ring, start the second half of the ring (8 ds). You should see the diamond formed. Close ring. The remaining bead from the loop will be the base of the next diamond. 

I needed to make this small tutorial for the tail of the dragonfly. Otherwise, that blog entry would have been a monster one. 

Have fun tatting. I know you will.