Tattings versatility

This what I like in tatting. This versatility. If one dares, of course. And this is what I always try to tell to anyone asking for hints: dare to be original, change a colour, do different combinations. Alter a bit. You will may not change to too much to be entitled to tell: "This is my pattern", but this little piece will have your signature. And will make you proud.
I revisited this pattern, from the stud earrings:

And I tried some finishing ideas.

 

If is absolutelly the same pattern, the same elements used. Except the 6 agat beads (2 mm), added to the inner element (sewed in). 

Also same one. This time I sewed the coral beads and the Toho 15.0 rocailles. And yes, you must sew the inner beads, there no way you can properly work the rings and add the beads as they are added.

By far, may favourite is this one:

Same basic pattern. Changed from 4 beads to 3 beads in between rings. This does not make it a new pattern. I added the outer chains, like for the beaded flower here:

Combining the 2 together, this may be an original? Nope. You can still point to to the originals. So again, no new pattern. But I got out from the boredom of working over and over the same thing. 

The pattern for this one? hard to give it to you. With my Penny 30 and my 11 Toho beads: 7 lj, 6, lj, 7, lj, 7 lj... and so on. Lock join between the beads as you see in the image. 

Just have fun if you dare ;) Just dare!

Happy tatting. 

Tatted stud earrings and ring

Last week, I think, I posted a pair of earrings and a ring. I just made a test to see how a light grey silver thread will look with some honey gold beads I had (11 Toho Gold Line Jonquille). Simpliest pattern ever, but you know me... simple tatting it is not just simple tatting.
Reasons? More than one.
1. Being a small item, it has to be perfect. This means that is the beads are not even, you do not get the same result.
2. Tattig pattern may be simple, but even knots are required for a small item.
3. Tatting with beads may be mastered, until you must make your joins through the beads. Which is the case here.
4. Folded join through certain beads not for unpatient tatters, at least at the begining. Of course, you can make the alternative join to finish the rosette (the Riego join), but still...

Remember these babies?

1 shuttle project, a very fine crochet hook needed. You need a good amount of beads (48 for every rosette + 12 or 24 for each middle element). Pearls of your choice. 

Pattern for the base: 

Told you. Simple. Just careful. 

bp4: beaded picot with 4 beads (from the ones from the loop)

dp: diamond beaded picot (3 beads from the loop + 1 from the shuttle). 

R1 (with 11 beads on the loop): 8ds, bp4, 4ds, dp, 4ds, bp4, 8ds, close ring, do not turn work. 

R2 (with 7 beads on the loop): 8ds + to R1 (by letting 1 bead between the rings int he lower part) 4ds, dp, 4ds, bp4, 8ds, close ring, do not turn. 

Repeat until you have 5 rings. 

R6: (with 3 beads in the loop): 8 ds + to R5, 4ds, dp, 4ds, join (folded) 8 ds, close ring. 

Work now the central element.

Start ring with 6 beads in the loop. Work 1 ds make picot with 2 beads (1 from the loop, the other one from the shuttle) 2 ds. repeat until you finish the beads from the loop, finish with 1 ds, close. 

You can also change the amount of ds, depending on your beads. 

For the ring I just made diamond picots instead of these double beaded picots. 

I worked with 30 Penny thread (like a 40 Lizbeth thread) and 11 Toho rocailles. With a different thread size and other beads, the appearance may be different. 

Mount the elements together. If you have stud little pearls, they are perfect. You can even think about working more of these elements to make them as exchangeble sets, why not?

I hid the head of my stud with another small flower (3-6-3 petal) for a better finish. 

Have fun!

Small flower, another way to add beads?

This was my intented post today. Got lost because of this chain I promissed to try/do/test.
A small flower, more like a violet, but this is just because of the colors.

Get your material toghether: thread (Tenax 30 /Lizbeth 40) , 1 shuttle and 1 ball (CTM), 35 seed beads (I used 11 Toho delicas). This time you will really need a beads threader or something appropriate (this tiny wire foldet in half is just perfect). A crochet hook will not be enough, trust me.
Pattern? the most boring ever: inner ring and then, round 2, all chains.
For a 5 petals flower you must string the seed beads to make the 5 centers for the petals.

1. String 4 seed beads

2. Take 3 more beads

3. Pass the threader through the previous beads so the last 3 becomes a picot. 

4. Snug. It shoud look like this.

5. Repeat 5 times. 

6. Work the inner ring with these beads in the loop (you will use them as beaded picots, marked B): 3 B 3 - 3... repeat until you have used all the beaded "stems", finish with 3 ds, snug, close ring. 

If you must move the beads, do not worry, just hold the bead on top and move it in the direction you need. You will be surprised how easy they are to move. 

7. Start chain, you will use only lock joins: 12 + 7 + 12 +- Feel free to adjust them to fit your thread and beads. 

8. Cut and hide the ends. Mine are not yet done. 

This little flower will get some sisters and will end up on a bracelet. But with some planning, it can give a delicate pair of earrings, a necklace.  You can also play with the colours for the beads: 

Notice the feelers? They are done with the same method. 

Happy tatting, have fun!

Pattern for 1 beaded flower

I received some thread from Edda Guastalla and I had to test it. I was always in the search for the perfect thread for what I want to make. Coton is good, Lizbeth is acceptable (please, Lizbeth fans, do not be offended), my Brildor is perfect but the thread is so thin (120), that I have to make a strand of 3 or 4 to get a decent size to tat with.

Why polyester? Simple.

For jewelry with beads we’d better have a thread wich will not fray during the work, it has to be more resistent as the cotton because the beads can always damage the thread. Polyester can have a very good shine, it will not change colour in time, it is stiffer, the stitches are regular always and it is easier to wash.

On the other hand, I tat a loooot ANKARS style, so cotton is not the thead I need. From the thread from Edda I fell in love in the Penny one. I can do whatever I want, it will not fray, not loose consistency, it will not brake when I have to make and close large, monster size rings. And the colors are just spectacular.

Last days I posted the tests. 

This one, I really like, I made already the white pair, just have to finish it:

 

For the last one, the flower with the metallic thread I made the step by step instructions. Somenone wanted it. It is not an original motiv. It appeared in a Japanese book and you can find it in L’orina’s work (by the way, she tats a lot from these Japanese books). 

Difficulty: very easy, beginner

Material used:

Thread Range 30, brown

48 seed beads (size 15)

Shuttle and ball / 2 shuttles (I would advise, actually, for the daring ones, because of the Catherine Weel join)

Beads threader (sounds impressive, it is not)

Crochet hook

Good light.  Honestly, don't laugh, you need it.

Remarks:

1.       You can use any thread you wish, any beads you want, but you will need to adjust the ds for the outer chains. Just tat the chain until it curves a tiny bit on top of the beaded picot and make the join. This is the amount of ds you will use. Lees ds: the beads will refuse to lay, more ds, you will have an interesting clover effect (you can see it, I rushed with one of the petals). 

2.       I used a 4ds sequence for the ring, because I needed to make clear pictures. With this thread, a 3 ds base is perfect.

bp: beaded picot: 8 seed beads.

Prepare the material
String the seed beads, fill the shuttle. CTM.
Start ring with all the beads in the loop.
4  bp 4 p . Repeat this until you have the 6 beaded picots, finish with 4ds. Close ring, turn work. Not difficult.
Start chain. 11 ds join between the 4th and the 5th bead beads of the picot (in the middle) with the ball thread, make sure the shuttle thread stay in the center, so you can have a continuous core thread. This would be the moment to make the Catherine Wheel join.   Finish the chain: 11 ds. Make lock join (with the shuttle thread).
This should be the result.

I hope this is helpful. 

Have fun. It is actually fun to make a bunch of them and place them where you need them. 

10 minutes tat

I had to finish the thread on a shuttle, so I played.

Pattern for a simple pair of earrings

1 shuttle pattern.

Fun fact: you can stop after various phases and you will still have something interesting.

Not difficult at all, fast to be done and if you have a young pupil, it is perfect to give it to her during the class... She will not feel that she made the folded join or the lock join, promise! 

I choose to make these instructions like this, with pictures, I know it helped me a lot when I found something in this form. Honestly, I spent more time by taking the pictures and to process them than for the actual tatting. 

	This is all you need. The bead has a large hole, large enough to let the chain pass through.
	Secure the begining of the chain with a paper clip.
	Start to tat the chain. 60 ds. Of course you can change the amount of ds as you like, this part will hang anyway behind your bext element.
	What you need now is to place the bead. Mine has 1,5mm hole, enough to be strung on the chain.
	Remove the paper clip and string the pearl.
	Make join lock to close the chain and to form it as a ring.
	Now start the flower. 7-7-7-7 in my case. I have a very fine thread, so my flower vill have max. 2 cm diameter.
	Without the picots for the upper ring now you have a small ring, or pendant, right?
	I continued. Still you can stop at this point, you will still have something to make a finished object.
	But I continued. Now this could be a pendant… Or with a pearl still an earring.
	But I finished my flower. I wanted it a six petal one.
	Why? You can fold it, see?
	And if yo add a pearl in a ring, it is happy enough.

Small, simple things may bring a lot a satisfaction. Remember when you made the first flower? This is the feeling you will never loose. I don't know you, but after I finish the simpliest flower, I take a break to feel it in my hands. Dumm enough.

Back to the pattern topic. I wanted to start to make some. Mined field, I know. I have already submitted 2 of them in my Etsy shop. They are very simple.

One of them is a beaded rosette. The pattern is simple but in the instructions I put clear explanations (diagrammed ones) of the beads placement on the shuttle (for 1 and for 2 colors) and the possible variations. It can be a pendant or, with some variations, a nice beaded snowflake.

The second one, is a flower, an orchid. This time it has the visual pattern and the pictures of the different prases.

Have fun! And if you decide to give a try to this 10 minutes pattern, please let me know. I am curious to see all your ideas, you are all sooo creative!

Pattern for the pendant

I was fooling around with seed beads latelly, a bit too intensive. I made a lot of tests, small elements. All piled up in my box and I had to use them, somehow.
So I put two of them toghether, with a pearl. As simple as that. Nothing new, almost boring.

It is a normal small 6 petal flower, done with 1 shuttle. 

String 24 beads on the shuttle. Take 3 beads and make the loop for the ring. Start ring, 8 - 8 bring the 3 beads from the loop and take a bead from the shuttle, make a bead picot, 8-8, close. Guess anyone has done it at least one time. 

The tricky part is the middle element.
You work with 2 shuttles or 1 shuttle and the ball.
String 24 beads on the shuttle. Take 18 beads and make a loop to start a ring. You must have 6 beads left on the shuttle.
The first round (the black one in the pattern) is a ring.
3 ds, bead picot (3 beads + 1 bead from the shuttle), 3 ds, picot, 3 ds bead picot (as previous)... repeat until the beads from the loop are used, close the ring.
As you see, after the last beaded picot, there are only 3 ds.

Second round, all chains. (red line in the pattern)
5ds lock join between the beads, 3 - 3, lock join around the upper bead, 5 ds lock join to the picot.

When you make the picots from the ring, you might consider to make it a bit bigger, so you can find it easily after the ring is closed. When closed, the beads will tend to hide this tiny picot. Good light, a fine hook and a lot of patience can help. I am sure, you will find  away to do it. 

I tried to add 1 ds between the picots of the first round, but the size of the ring is not a good one. At least, for the thread I used, the tiny one, it was not nice to see. 

Disregard, please, the proportions of the second pattern... I did not find a better way to do it. 

What is left, is to sew toghether the 2 parts. Done. I think it would make a nice, sparkling Chrismass decoration too. 

My middle element has pink seed beads and silver seed beads at the base... If you want to do it too, when you string the seed beads, do it as follows: 18 seed beads (they will go on the loop for the ring and will be placed on the outer side of the ring) + 6 seed beads of a different color (they will stay on the shuttle thread and will be at the inner side of the ring). 

Have fun, if you will try it.