Pattern Sakura

For a tatting exhibition in Japan, organized by the Romanian Embassy in Tokio, I made a hair comb using the symbol of the Sakura.

The pattern is, again, not the important element here, but the technique, the way I made those little beads to make the floating stamen.

In order to do this you need to prepare your beads, a beading needle or simply something to allow you to pass a second time through the beads. I use just my guitar string, I think you saw it in action several times. 

Material needed: seed beads of your choice, stringing tool (dental floss, beading needle, your choice), 5 paper clips. 

1 Shuttle and ball (CTM). 

Technical difficulties: none! Just a nice mock picot and lock joins. Manipulating the beads and making clean lock joins is task enough.   

The Sakura has 5 petals, sou you will need to string 10 stamen on the shuttle and keep aside the beads for 5 others which you will string while you work. 

Preparing the beads: 

	Before filling the shuttle, prepare the stamen as follows:  string the beads for 1 stamen.
	pass the beading needle through the beads except the last one.
	Snug. Done. Prepare to make the next 10 ones.

Fill the shuttle with these stamen on. Group them by 2, leave some space in between them so you can use them when you need it and still have thread to work the needed ds. Do not cut the thread. 

The central stamen will be a long beaded picot secured with paper clip, so make sure you have all the material ready. 

Start ring with all the stamen in the loop.

Working sequence: repeat 5 times: 3 ds stamen 1 ds beaded picot with paper clip 1ds stamen 3 ds picot. 

The central part is done, you have all the elements ready. 

Note: 

· Patience is needed to manipulate those beads (stamen), but it is easy: just take the upper one and move it... 

· Try to avoid beads with cutting edges.  

Next step: all chains and lock joins. I used sequences of 15 ds, but please, adjust them to fit your needs. I choose not to make any join between the chain, I like the way the petals just superpose. You can use the Catherine Wheel join, but I prefered to interrupt the core thread, to have a nice angle. 

In the picture of the comb, you have 3 different ways to use those stamen. 

Left one: long beaded picot. Simple. 

Middle: you have now already the directions. 

Right: 1 stamen used as a bead at the base of the ring. It is working and the beauty is that it can be done not to lay flat. 

Hope this helps. 

Have fun tatting. 

New bracelet

While making the test with the Range 30 metallic thread from Edda, I made these flowers (see pattern here).
And I had somehow an idea how to use them. I make a lot of tests for patterns, the good ones end in a box, waiting for the idea to settle down. This idea, though, came pretty fast, while making the pictures for the step by step tutorial.

So, starting point:

Used the rough pattern of the bracelet with the white and the silver thread to make the bracelet base. It was actually nice without any add. I changed the ds, because this time the thicker thread was making the wavy line. 

I worked one 2 more flowers (to have the same colour of the seed beads for the petals). I really wanted to chase away the monotny of the brown and cooper tones, so I used the metallig green flower and I made a dark brown one. I decided to lighten it up with yellow. 

Material used: dark brown Brildor 40 (strand of 4), Range 30 metallic thread, seed beads (11), acrylic pearls (4 mm), invisible thread (one has to sew this flower spray...)

The result: 

Not that bad. I do not have any bronze clasps, so it has to wait until tomorrow.

Happy enough and while finishind it, got more ideas. With different colours it will become a very "springy" bracelet. 

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 beaded flower

As I told before... beads phase im my tatting.
I just made this flower and someone wanted the pattern. It is not a big deal, it is not difficult at all.
Starting element is the most common 6 petal flower done with 1 shuttle. There are some beads on it. The second round just goes around the flower and the beads. This is the part wich gives a nice shape.
I guess someone else wiser and smarter tham me has to have found this idea before, but I never saw it. If it is the case, I apologize and I will be grateful if someone can point me the author, if there is one.

The pattern is done for a 12 Anchor Freccia  thread (like the 60 DMC, if I remember it correctly).

What you need: 30 seed beads.

Wind your shuttle and put the 30 seed beads on the thread.

Take 4 seed beads and start the ring. 8ds - 8ds - 3beads from the loop and 1 from the shuttle 8 close. The fourth bead from the loop will remain at the base of the ring.
Repeat 5 times, making the joins to form the flower.
Cut thread.
Easy.

Second round: all chains. (marked red)
Begin from the join picotsof the flower.
Chain 12ds, make lock join to the thread between the 2 seed beads.
Chain 4 ds - 4ds lock join after the bead on top.
Chain 12 ds lock join at the picot from the flower.
Repeat until the round is complete.

What I noticed while playing with this pattern.
For the outer round, you shoud add not more than 4 ds at the amount of ds used as a base for the flower. My case here: 8 for the flower, 12 for the outer chain. Less ds do not bring a nice shape, more ds will make a nasty join with overlaping chains.
When you make the lock joins for the outer round, you should consider passing the thread through the picot and not bellow the picot from the flower. Result: a smoother transition. When I made the join fom the lower part of the picot, I had a knottier join and a longer part of the thread was visible. Not nice.
The nastiest part: the join where the flower was closed... Patience needed.
If you use beads bigger than 1mm -1,5 mm, you should replace the 4 - 4 sequence with something fitting to your material.