How to empty a shuttle and fall onto a usable piece

Emptying my shuttle

After a bigger project there is always some thread left on the shuttle. This is how the flowers of the butterflies pile up in our boxes. In mine come shreads of ideas and some if them are not that bad.
Like this one:

The pattern is more than simple: all rings, increasing the double stitches amount by every petal.

R1: 4 - 8 - 4, close, do not turn.
R2: 4 + 10 - 5, close, do not turn.
R3: 5 + 12 - 6, close, do not turn.
R4: 6 + 14 - 7, close, do not turn.
R5: 7 + 16 - 8, close, do not turn.
R6: 8 + 18 - 9, close, do not turn.
R7: 9 + 20 - 10, close, leave a decent amount of thread, cut.

Now, for the finishing part, I used a 4 mm flat pearl with 2 holes and a small 3 mm cristall. You can see also in the picture below the finished tatted thingy.

Step 1: place the pearl and make the join to the picot fromt he last ring. Secure the bead by passing one time bach and bring back the thread to the picot.

Step 2: Pass the needle through the join between the R3 and R4. Secur this stitch also if you want.

Step 3: Pass the needle through the horizontal hole of the pearl to go on the other side. secure this bead.

This is how your piece should look like.

Last step: sew the cristal:

I made some of these to make a bracelet. It is a really fast project and still has some effect.
Where to find the 2 crossed beads? I found mine in bracelets like this one. The pearls shops in Tenerife sell them. I just love these beads. Pitty that Toho and Co do not produce them.

Have fun with the pattern. For any question, just drop me a message.

P.S. This is worked with Penny 30 Bordeaux from Edda.

P.P.S.: The result:

 

Bauble pattern

I posted some time ago a Christmas bauble and I promissed to share the pattern.
It is not dificult to do... except you want to do it the way I did it: with 3 shuttles and using padding tatting.
The pattern is just rings and chains and at the first glance, one can say: 1 shuttle and a ball, 2 different colours would do it. But if you search for neat work, no knots to change directions and smooth finish, then I would still chose the 3 shuttles solution. Trust me, I have tried the easy way, I was not happy with the result: the elements were twisting and the lace did not bend but just fold at the point where the knot was done. This is, by the way, what I disliked with needle tatting: pictures are nice, but the actual lace not that much.

Why 2 shuttles and the ball would not do it? Because you will want to have the possibility to switch 2 shuttles with green thread without making knots or "jumps" between the upper and the lower side of the ds. Which will lead to a not nice finish.
Why padding? Well the same reason. See that lower red ring? With 2 shuttles you cannot make it look really nice. And by padding, you can nicely hide that red thread and use it only when you want it. Happy GR8 owners....


So 3 shuttles for me. Padding. For the ones needing to refresh the technique you can refer to the video of Karen Cabrera here or to a tutorial from Georgia Seitz. Both perfect to learn this technique.
All the chains have 20 ds, and are done with padding, no turn work.
You will use the upper green shuttle for the rings and the lower green shuttle for the padding.

Prepare the 3 stars. Mine were 5-5-5-5 or 5 -10 - 5 for the petals with no joins.
Make with the red thread a 10 ds ring. Snug, and keep it.

Pattern:

Green shuttle: 

R1: 10 - 5 - 5

R2: 5 + 8 + (to 1 red star) 8 - 5. 

R3: 5 + 5 - 10. 

Do not turn 

Place at the base of the trefoil the small red ring (R4) and prepare for padding. Hold both threads together. Make 20 unflipped ds. Snug well, you can also pull a bit the thread thread. 

Red shuttle: R5: 10 ds. Close ring. Do not turn work. 

Upper green shuttle: R6 10 + 8 - 2 close. 

R7: 2 + 8 - 10 close. 

Lower green shuttle: padded chain 20 ds. Snug well. 

Red shuttle: R8: 10 ds. 

Upper green shuttle: R9: 10 + 8 - 2. 

R10: 2 + 8 - 10. Do not turn work. 

Chain 20 ds. padded. 

Upper green shuttle: R11: 9 + - 2- 9. Turn work. 

Red shuttle: R12: 10 - 10. Turn work, prepare for padding. 

Chain: 20 ds. 

Repeat to get to the upper trefoil. 

Work trefoil and join to the star. 

Do not turn work. Chain padding: 20 ds. Shug, turn work. 

Red shuttle: R13: 8 + 5 - 3. Do not turn work. 

Red shuttle: R14: 3 + 5 - 8. Turn work. 

Chain, padding 20 ds. Repeat 2 more times. 

Join the last eement to the first one. 

Cut and hide ends. 

Now you can finish your baubles as you like. I made them this way: 

 

 

They are not that bad and all the trouble with the 3 shuttles is really worth doing.  

If you get inspired to work them and if you get stuck, just give me sign. 

If you find an easier way to do it, please let me know. 

Needle tatters could trick the encapsulating by using 2 threads in the needle... and then switch the needle from 1 thread to the other. Sorry, hard to find a decent equivalent for a 3 shuttle pattern to be worked with the needle. Of course, you can ease your life and give up the 2 colours and use 2 shuttles and red beads instead... 

Have fun.  

Pulled loop join

It  sounds long and scarry... But it is a join done with the shuttle thread, just a lok join, since all rings are worked with only one shuttle. In the old patterns, before Ann Orr taught us to work a split chain (1916)  you find this chain of rings with some bare thread behind. Today we would work this with 2 shuttles and make split rings. 

But going back to the roots, can help. You love beads? Any bare thread can carry beads and this piece is no exception. Nina Libin is also using is. I also like the pulled loop join because it allows you to pass at the top of a ring with a neat effect and, since it is a single shuttle technique witl the beads on it, this makes the project really "portable".

In this piece from the pìcture there are 2 little technical details: the pulled loop join and the horizontal ring. I call it collar ring because of the appearance. Have no idea if it has a name, this little fellow. 

Thred the desired beads on the shuttle thread and work trefoil. My case 5-5-5-5 (I worked with Sunlight 40 and 3 mm coral beads). Go back to the middle ring of the trefoil (make a join), take 1 bead and place it behind your work, pull the thread and make the lock join carefully. Done.
Help for it here (Karen Cabrera, of course):

Start the new trefoil, repeat the whole sequence. Turn the work  90 degrees, start a ring wraping the thread around the work between the 2 trefoils and work a 10 ds ring. Close  this ring in such a way that it closes on the back side of the work, bring the next bead, make the pulled loop join.
I used this for a bracelet and I also made another round and used also the outer picots.

Assymetrical earrings

Too long... waited too long to make the pattern for the earrings. For some I just gave the rough written pattern  over Facebook. There you have it:
One shuttle pattern.
String some seed beads in the shuttle. No turn work what so ever. 20 minutes tat. Promise.

Start
R1: 10 - 10.
R2: 10 + 5 - 10
R3: 15 + 5 - 20
R4: 20 + 5 - 25
R5: 25 + 38 - 2 (or how much you want, but keep the 2).
Rb: take a bead in the loop for the ring. work 2 + o large ring) 6 - 2 close. The bead stays at the base of the ring. Continue until you have the nice curve needed for your bead.
As you see, 4 rings are also ok.


You can think avout working the last ring as a SCMR (2 threads).

The rest is ading the rest of the beads by sewing them. I added first the large one, then went back, added the light blue ones, came back and added the small seed bead... went back throught the large bead, added the bead in the R1. Secured thread. Done.

Have fun.

Pattern Wave

It was time maybe to let it go. Since 2012 I saw a lot of versions not only of the finished, but also of the pattern itself, in so many forms. I like to think that a lot of technical questions will be answered by the pattern itself. I never expected this pattern to raise so much interest and I thank everyone on who once had a look at the original before I made it public.
The pattern is simple, so simple that is is boring. But do not rush while working it. Simple things can punish pretty hard the impatient hand.

To the English version: here.
For the French one: here.
Instructions for the needle: here.

Just enjoy. I decided to place it also in the blog, at least it is all in one place.

Happy tatting.

Bauble fever

I do have a huge shortage in time. I do not have the time to make a tatting tutorial the way I like it.
Lately I made some baubles. But one of the patterns used especially is pretty versatile.

I will post the picture and the written pattern. It is a very easy one. No idea, I may have been seen something similar. Anyway, did not copy voluntarily anyone. If so, Please let me know.
You can work it with a shuttle and a ball, CTM, of course. I prefer though the 2 colours version. No trick, simple sequence ring, chain, ring.
I worked this patterns with a Penny 30 thread and Finca Metallic thread (really fine one). Yes, I am not afraid to mix the threads sizes, the effect is always rewarding. So, please adjust your ds accordingly. All the picots are very small picots.

The only difficult step is the start: with a chain with a paperclip.

Place the paperclip, start chain: 10 - 19 - 1, snug, turn work.
* Ring 1: 10 + (remove paper clip, make join) 9 - 1, close, do not turn work.
R2: 1 + 9 -10, close,  turn work.
Ch: 1 + 18 -1 snug, turn work.
Work trefoil:
R: 10 + 6 - 4, close, dnt
R: 4 + 10 - 10 - 4, close, do not turn
R: 4 + 6 - 10 close turn work.
Ch: 1 + 18 - 1, snug, turn work.
R: 10 + 9 - 1, close, do not turn work.
R: 1 + 9 - 10, close, turn work.
Ch: 1 + 19 - 10, make lock join to the last ring.
Continue Ch: 10 - 19 + 1, snug, turn work. *
Repeat from * to *.

When you got the desired length, cut and work the second half, joining chains at the remaining picot.
You will get this. Bookmark, bracelet, also good.

For a 3 cm diameter baulbe: 4 elements were enough. I closed first the lower part with a ring (I think there were 6 or 8 ds between the picots from the trefoil). To close the motif on the bauble: just passed a thread through the picots and snug.

For a 6 cm diameter, I used 5 elements.

 

For a 8 cm diameter I placed the lace vertically, and fasten both ends. I made also 2 flowers and sewed the elements together.
Why did I say that the pattern is versatile? well... If you join the picots with a flower or a ring and if you stiffen the lace with an inflated balloon, you will get a lace bauble. I tested it, it works. If you work 4 elements, you will get a nice cube.
If you work only a half of the stripe with 5 or 6 elements and join the upper picots of the trefoils with a flower, you will get a star or a snowflake .
Have fun. I know I did.

Fringe... sort of

Corina tried to get in the snowflake mood. Toke a pattern tried to work it. Then she finds a lost thread of gold metallic Finca thread and the pattern gets forgotten. It is again one of the "Lets start the party" moments.
It did this:

 

See those threads? No picots cut at the end. Easy to see that the golden thread stay on the core thread. I do not know if this is already dowe and how. I am sure someone did it, but I did not see it yet. Please, if you identify a known technique, let me know, to give the right credits. 

My first test was done with simple macramé knots done on the core thread. Jane Eborall inspired me to try to use picots, when she mentionned the feelers for critters. And yes, I rushed to look at her superbe tutorials. Did not find yet this one. 

Main idea: who said that we can tat only beads into the lace??

What you need: 1 shuttle and a ball (CTM). A thread of a second colour.

Start by working chain on your shuttle with very long picots. As many as you estimate you will use. (my case: 7  x 6). The more even, te better. Cut those picots at the upper part, distribute them and just fill the shuttle. Treat them as beads. 

  

 Start tatting. When the moment comes (my sequence was 5 - 2 7 of those metallic thread fringes sep. by 1 ds, picot, 5, close) bring one of the knots with fringes in position then work the ds.

A bit uncomfortable at first but after a while, it gets better. It is sooo simple!!!
Keep only in mind that you will have to count this fringe as a ds... So you might need to re-think a bit before the pattern.

This little baby was done in less than 30 mins. Trim those fringes to give them a shape. 

I see this quite interesting for an aura for an angel, my husband suggested the winks for an angel, the snow as a border for a Christmas tree, a garland. 

Imagine a Josephine chain with fringes which get gradually longer... got your attention a bit?

Happy tatting.