Tuesday 28 May 2013

Roses

I like 3D tatted roses (yes, ok, tatting is always 3D but these roses definitely have more "height" than regular tatting).  I have tried a few people's patterns, including Jeanne Lugert's rose which is really pretty and recently I purchased Toni Lansing's Rose which has a crocheted base and is made for the needle (though of course you can make it with a shuttle but the joins are a little bit more difficult to make).  I was still not completely satisfied.

So I played around with the idea.  I decided I liked the look of needle tatting for this particular flower.  The stitches are "fatter" with a needle and I felt that produced a nicer, fuller petal.  I didn't particularly want to start with a crocheted base though; I wanted it to be all tatting, all shuttle!

To get the thickness I was after, I thought of doubling the core thread.  So I start this rose with a single thickness, make the centre, then unwind the shuttle and fold the thread in two before re-winding the bobbin.  The chain-tatted petals now have a fuller look.  I like that.




These roses have sets of five petals so they end up working a bit asymmetrical but I decided I liked that.  They are not exactly the same, just like real roses would not be!


I was so pleased with them I made a pair for a friend in pink with some "danglies".


You can see on this photo some of the tatting shrapnel left over from my numerous attempts at getting this rose right.


And finally, here's a close-up
I found some sew-on crystals which matched the thread nicely.



Best wishes,
Frivole

12 comments:

  1. I love them.
    Toni pattern is good for needle tatting. I did not succeeded in make 3d roses with shuttle, so that I like them.

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  2. Fabulous rose earrings!!! :)

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  3. Very pretty, Frivole, and clever to double the thread....
    Fox : )

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  4. Those are beautiful! I love the way you have decorated them. :)

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  5. Those are very pretty. Interesting idea to double the core thread. I wonder if a double bobbin shuttle would work well for that, wind both bobbins, but only start using the thread from the 2nd bobbin when you need it.

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  6. Lovely! And definitely a simple and great idea!

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  7. Very lovely! I hope I will tatt again, and I love to watch your tatted creations - they are so beautifull!

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  8. Brilliant idea to double the thread, they look perfect.
    Margaret

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  9. Those are sweet. I'm glad you managed to get the effect you were after. I like your term 'shrapnel'!

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  10. I, too, had to smile at "shrapnel". It is often like my hobby has exploded all over the house, too.
    The tatting must be unflipped for the petals. In a looking closely at the pictures, the stitches look like they are made with 1 thread?

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    Replies
    1. Hi StringyDogs, I know what you mean... "exploded all over the house"!! Especially when I'm testing patterns, I do end up with loads of bits everywhere (hence shrapnel).

      The tatting is still flipped. It is the core thread that is doubled so the stitches are made with a single thread around two threads - does that make sense?

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