Lesson 1 Session

Goals for this lesson:

• learn to Read patterns
• Learn to make ring for shuttle tatters and the true ring for needle tatters
• learn to make picot

Reading Patterns

Pictorial Pattern Charts (This'N'Tat)

Pattern notations (Tatra-Sutra)

Reading Tatting Patterns (Bella Online)

How to make a Ring for Shuttle Tatter and a true ring for needle tatter

To help you get comfortable with the ring / true ring we will work on the following small exercise patterns/border in class:

Exercise Pattern :

(this pattern is part of Katia's  teaching class for beginners in her hometown)

*Ring: 15 DS cl. leave 1/2" of bare thread before starting the next ring * repeat 5 timesShuttle tatters:

Shuttle tatters: ring

Take the SHUTTLE thread over the backs of your fingers in exactly the same way as you did for the chain but do not wind it round the little finger. Instead, continue round your hand, then take the thread up between the thumb and index finger to lie next to the end of the chain. At this point the core thread is pinched between your thumb and first finger in 2 spots with a wind around your hand between. Video demo of a ring for shuttle tatters

Needle tatters: true ring

Holding your needle in your right hand you will use the core thread (the one threaded through your needle) to wrap your DS. For diagrams to make it easier to view this please check handy hands tutorial on rings

Start to make your double stitches just as before. Shuttle tatters keep your fingers as widely apart as possible when you start the ring because that will give you more thread to work with - tatting stitches use up a small amount of thread with each stitch and the ring round your fingers will get smaller. It will feel awkward at first and you may find that the ring of thread falls off your fingers from time to time. If you find your ring of thread gets too small to work with, pull on the thread that lies under your hand - this will enlarge it (the shuttle thread will get shorter and you may find you have to unwind some more thread from the shuttle) and give you more room to work.

Once you have made the desired number of stitches, take the stitches and thread off your hand. Pinch the stitches of the ring between your index and thumb fingers. This will give you some control if the ring starts to twist as you close the ring. Pull carefully on the thread coming from your shuttle/needle and you will see the ring begin to close(if it doesn't you probably have not flipped a stitch correctly). Pull until the ring closes completely, and the stitches lie flat in a neat oval.

Picot

If you look at the DS as it faces you it looks something like this you may have noticed how it looks like the DS has a waistband and pant legs. If you look at the other side of the DS you will still have both pant legs and two halves of waistbands this is the way it is suppose to be. As you make the next DS the other side of the tatting would show half the first half of a DS, a full DS and the second half of the DS. When we make a picot = P it is the waistband of the full DS on the other side of the tatting that will be come the picot = P, it sounds complicated doesn't it but its not.

In the sample we see the core thread or needle as gray and the ball thread as red. Lets "do/leave" a picot = P make a DS as normal it does not matter if you are a needle tatter or a shuttle tatter then make another double stitch but this time do not bring it up close to the previous double stitch you will leave a space it will look similar to this. Something to note here is that the long thread in red at the very top is actual the waistband of the full DS on the other side of the tatting.

Now you just slide the second DS up against the previous DS and the 'waistband' loops up as a picot = P because there isn't room for it to stay down flat like before. We haven't made anything we only left a space of thread and when we slide the DS together the space is gone and the loop is there. Really now can we get much easier than that? Did you notice with the picot = P loop going up like that the DS are not taking up anymore space side to side then if we did not allow the picots = P to be there? So if we made a R of 15DS and no picots = P it is still the same size as R of 15DS that has 3 picots = P that are evenly spaced. The picots = P will make it look larger but the actual ring is the same size. Neat, right?

Try this Exercise Pattern :

(this pattern is part of Katia's  teaching class for beginners in her hometown)

*Ring: 5 DS , P,  5DS , P, 5DS  cl. leave 1/2" of bare thread before starting the next ring * repeat 5 times

Picots = P can be made various sizes by the size of the space left for them. Picot = P gauges are often used and there are a couple of ways to use them but for now we will not use them we want to get some basics down first. In a pattern a picot can be represented a number of ways it can be the word written out, or surprise the 'P' or hyphens '-' for a regular size '--' for a larger size and '---' for and even larger size. In a diagram a picot isn't mentioned it is shown with numbers between the picots.

Picot Gauges

Thread spacing can be kept consistent with the use of a picot gauge; here we see the use of the gauge in both the horizontal and vertical method for picots.

When making picots I normally use the horizontal method for both shuttle and needle tatting however when doing the spacing between rings when doing single shuttle/needle work I use the vertical method.

A gauge can be made out of almost anything, Georgia sells wooden ones unfortunately I have never been in the position to acquire any so I make mine. I have used coated paperclips, bobby pins, cardboard cut to size, embroidery floss cards cut to size, I have even put permanent mark dots on my finger, (some people even have their finger tattooed), an end of crochet hooks work too.

As many of you have heard needle tatters can do the same pattern as shuttle tatters this is true, with the true ring . So in this first pattern Dove by JoAnn Stearns AKA The Silver Shuttle  You will only need 24" to 36" (61cm to 91cm) on your shuttle or needle.

Things to do when making a pattern the first time:

1. Read through the pattern at least twice to see if I think I will be able to under stand it. I don't need to understand every twist and turn this second but are there any terms I do NOT know that I want to get help with first before going further?

2. What will I do with my thread ends? (I will need to know how my project will be used.) Can I knot my ends and cut the threads close on the back because it will be mounted in a frame and not seen? Can I use the ends of the threads as part of the hanger on a Christmas ornament or bookmark? Do I need to hide them inside my DS? For the dove you will be knotting the threads on the back and trimming them close as it is just a little something you can give out to whomever you want to, glue to a note card, perhaps it isn't a dove maybe you see the birdie as a partridge in a pear tree on a hand made Christmas card so the knot side is glued down. (Please note that we will teach you to hide ends in a few weeks, keep your practice pieces and you can practice hiding ends on them!!!)

I know we haven't talked patterns yet. We are confident you can understand the dove pattern, if not we are here to help. Remember the number tells you how many DS to make, the - tells you how large your P is.

Some patterns to practice with can be found at the following sites:

Dove by JoAnn Stearns

Cynthia's "Butterflies are Forever Free" pattern

Have fun, We will see you in class.

Contact the Teachers

Mimi: ntrop at ix dot netcom dot com
Cynthia: brasthatfit at yahoo dot com
Jane: stujane82 at embarqmail dot com