Tuesday 17 March 2015

Hearts & Shamrocks

Today is Saint Patrick's day…  a good occasion to re-visit my trio of clover patterns (available on my patterns page, tab above).  I don't know why I hadn't thought to make a "lucky one" with four leaves before.



Top left was my first try with four leaves but although it was flattened by the scan, this was just too tight with the original stitch count on the centre ring and it frilled a lot.  Second version, top right, has an inside ring of 2-2-2-2-2-2-2 (7 picots separated by 2 ds) and that works well.  Bottom left is the original with three leaves.  But my favourite is still the bottom right one, made without a centre ring.  I think the leaves on that one have the best shape.  But if you were to make that one with four leaves, the space in the centre would end up too big so I think it's best with three leaves.

I think I'll play with this a bit more to improve the shape of the leaf of the version with a centre ring.  Perhaps by just making the leaf ring larger and the chains around it shorter, this will give it a shape more to my liking.



I visited Craftree yesterday.  I must admit I've not been a very frequent visitor since the move over from In Tatters (I miss the old website).  There I found this pattern for a little heart by Brintinpa (can be found under the "Members Patterns" section.  It's called "Kiss Curl Heart"… I rather like the name!



On the bottom version, I changed the small ring to a SCMR which helps give more of a pointy shape.


So if you need a really quick little motif to send on a card to someone, I think this is great.  My thanks to the designer.  It's also good practice to make a nice long smooth chain!  You have to make sure each ds is exactly the same height as the one before if you want the curve to be really smooth.  Mine are not perfect by any means… and I didn't do a very good job of sewing ends in either!  It's good that there's always room for improvement… keeps you on your toes.  :-)


Best wishes,
Frivole

14 comments:

  1. I'm tatting hearts at the moment, that looks like a good one to know, thanks.

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  2. Great clovers and hearts!! :) And fabulous colors on the hearts!! :)

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    1. Thank you God's Kid, yes, nice colours, they are both from Tat-ilicious… who seems to have sadly disappeared from Etsy. She made lovely HDT.

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  3. I like the leaves as well as the hearts ! Lovely tatting as always & nice colourways, too :-)
    All these are on my to-tat list but I am so slow or get distracted !

    Between the old & new 4-leaf clover, I prefer the former with the tinier ring in the centre. I think it provides more of a visual focal point as well as some texture in the center - just like a thicker main vein. Pity it does not lay flat. Maybe one can use it as a 3D piece ?

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    1. Yes, I agree with you Muskaan, I prefer the smaller centre too… and yes, it looks rather nice as a 3D piece so it could be used like that and keep its "frilliness"!

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  4. I found the heart on craftree but I couldn't find a stitch count. Did you make up your own stitch count?

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    1. There is a thread with the pattern provided… hang on, I'll go look for it…
      Here:
      http://www.craftree.com/forum/threadfs/6750
      It comes up very small but you should still be able to read the stitch count and instructions.

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  5. Jane, Frivole, she later posted a pdf too. I have it on my desktop (didn't save in Dropbox). Will send the link tomorrow.

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    1. Here's the link : http://www.craftree.com/patterns/1809
      It can be downloaded for free.

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    2. For those on Facebook, she has shared the pdf in the 'Tatting' group.

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    3. Thank you for the link Muskaan!

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  6. I love the lucky shemrocks!

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  7. Both the shamrocks and the hearts are lovely. I'm having a hard time deciding which shamrock I like the best, they all have their own appeal. I think your chains on the hearts look pretty good!

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  8. I love shamrocks, but no time to try tatting them this year. Yours are adorable, even if they have been flattened by the scanner. I remember seeing that heart, but I was sure I wouldn't be able to tat that length of chain as smoothly as you have, so it went on the back burner. I love that you post all of the things you try. It helps keep me inspired!

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