Thursday 1 August 2013

The Look of Needle Tatting... with a shuttle!

Sometimes the chunky look of needle tatting appeals to me.  For certain things.  Last night, I wanted to make a chunky black bracelet so I had a go at making one with a needle.  One thing I don't like about needle tatting though is that knotting after each element makes the tatting go a bit "twisty".  Also, for me, it's slow going.

So I gave this a bit of thought and came up with a solution.  Here is my shuttle tatting with the look of needle!


The top one is needle tatted and
the bottom one is shuttle tatted.

Can you see how they are just about as chunky as each other.
But for me, the shuttle tatting is much smoother, consistent and lies flat
(as in, no twisting of the elements)


I had already thought about this when I made my roses for which I also wanted chunkier petals.  For that pattern, I had doubled up my thread after having made the centre ring with a single thread.  It worked well.  But in this case, as you are moving from chains to rings, you cannot have a doubled thread as you end up with four thicknesses (two core and two working).

My solution was to attach a loop of thread (in this case I'm using size 10) to my shuttle going down the side of the bobbin so it doesn't get tangled up with the thread of the shuttle.  You then make the stitches with three thicknesses as your core but you pull the loop back out of your stitches before finishing the chain or closing the ring.  It isn't as difficult or complicated or time-consuming as it sounds!  And it works really well to give the chunky look of needle but (for me) the ease and consistency of tatting with a shuttle.


The extra loop only needs to be about 6-7 inches long
so it's easy to pull it back out and it doesn't get in the way.
In fact when closing rings, it just pulls back out
by itself as you close the ring, so no extra work involved at all.




So there you are.  I realise this is probably a minority interest and I don't know if anyone will find this useful but for me, it solved a problem and enabled me to create a tatted piece with the look I was after.

Best wishes,
Frivole

20 comments:

  1. Oh, the definition of the piece shuttle tatted is 100% better than the needle tatted one and I can see this would be faster than a needle too. I find the needle waaaay too slow, aggravating with the twisting and hurts my hands!!!

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  2. Interesting. Funnily enough, I'm using the same pattern to make bookmarks. I don't want them too puffy though, so I won't use your technique, just a size 10 thread.

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    1. Oh you are right Jane, for bookmarks, you definitely want the least bulky possible! But sometimes, you're after something different and it's nice to figure out how to do it.

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  3. Thanks for sharing this technique! Would you consider making a video?
    Bernadette

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    1. Hi Bernadette, yes I would. I will add it to my list of videos to make.

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  4. great idea! definitely will come in handy! :-)
    thank you very much

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  5. wonderful method tatting metallic yarn!

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    1. Hi Lenka, did you try it with metallic? Would love to see!

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  6. Interesting! Look at my needle tatting: http://supelkologia.blogspot.com/search/label/frywolitki

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  7. Interesting post, not sure if it would work for me but it would be interesting to try on a thread that's not easy to tat with
    Margaret

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  8. Love the idea, I can see how it would add more umph to a bracelet. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. great idea! I think this can give a different look to some tatting pieces, mostly to jewelry and applications! thanks for sharing your stylish solution!

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  10. I love your Idea, I have only thought of it for the chain and loved the extra support that it gave. I didn't figure out how to work the ring really nice tip. I make these adorable baby booties in large thread and everyone loves the chunky look, so I think this will be great to try! Thank you for the tip it's excellent! :)

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  11. Nifty. I, of course, disagree about the needle tatting, but it's really all in what we're used to, of course! This is a good solution if you don't know how to needle tat!

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    1. Yes of course! :-)
      I'm not getting on at needle tatters... it's just that for me, I can get better results with a shuttle. But do you really not find there is twisting due to knotting (as in knotting after each ring and chain)?

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    2. I found terrible twisting with the needle too and the hassle of running out of thread 'drove' me mad (or even madder) from it. Like Suztats and your good self say - the work done on a shuttle is always a lot finer because of the way needle tatting is made. Go on, Suztats, have a go, Jo!!!!

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  12. I'm with Kristen, of course, being a needle tatter. ;-) I can't say that I've noticed any twisting. Of course, since I don't know how to shuttle tat, I can only compare with the lovely tats I've received from other tatters who do. Their work is finer.

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  13. So, this comment is 9 years after this was written. Couldn't you have just used thicker thread? Maybe size 3 to get the chunky look? Also, needle tatting does Not twist if you do it right. Perhaps inexperience played a part in your work twisting?

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