Saturday, 24 September 2016

A Star is Born?...

Just kidding!  I couldn't help myself.  Each year I like to make a new snowflake/ornament to put in the cards that I send to family and friends.  It's coming to this time of year again and on this occasion, I decided I'd like to work on a star (five-sided) for a change instead of a snowflake (six-sided).


Here are a few versions of it...  it's mostly the different centre I've been working on... and I'm not convinced I've found he best one yet!


The simplest one was the first:



Then I thought I wanted to emphasise the star shape in the centre
so I made pointy chains:



Then I wondered whether it would be better
to fill the centre space with little rings...

And I also added beads on the joins,
going from smaller to larger
(a seed bead, then a 4mm bead, then a crystal)




Then I thought how much I liked Swarovski crystals
in the centre of Bentley and perhaps they would look nice here too


It took me a while to figure out how to get that centre of crystals in there
whilst keeping the one pass only design...

Eventually it clicked:
Yes of course, I needed to use
the loop-tatted ring method!

This is a bit of a blurry photo but I wanted to show the crystals
and also the sparkly thread (one strand of shimmering filament added to the cotton)



So that's where I'm at so far.  If possible I'd like to come up with a design that works with or without beads as I know not everyone likes to work with beads so it's nice if the design can work out well either way.

I'll work on this a bit more and hopefully come up with a final design.  Any input welcome!

Best wishes,
Frivole








Posted by Frivole at 22:07

21 comments:

  1. Michelle24 September 2016 at 22:51

    I love, love, love the star with the crystals in the center. It really captures the points that are always in my mind there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frivole24 September 2016 at 23:16

      Oh great! Thank you Michelle! I too love those crystals...

      Delete
  2. God's Kid24 September 2016 at 23:38

    Great stars!!! :)
    I like the bottom one because the crystals look like a star in the center.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Madtatter8025 September 2016 at 01:26

    Love the simple second first then the crystals :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Margarets designer cards25 September 2016 at 08:58

    I love them all but the one with the three beads from a larger one to the smallest is my favourite of all

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frivole25 September 2016 at 10:25

      Oooh, that's why I can't make up my mind! I too love the graduated beads and how it makes kind of a vein in the middle... I was going to make another version that emphasised that particular aspect.

      Delete
  5. Elsa filOfilie25 September 2016 at 10:24

    Il love your stars ! and I didn't know loop-tatted ring. I have to see how you do it !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frivole25 September 2016 at 13:51

      Bonjour Elsa, on peut m'écrire en français aussi si on veut. :-) J'ai fait une vidéo sur le "loop-tatted ring" si vous voulez voir comment faire. Si vous allez voir sur Youtube, mon canal s'appelle 11Frivole.

      Delete
    2. Elsa filOfilie25 September 2016 at 21:03

      Merci beaucoup ! Je vais aller voir 😀

      Delete
    3. Elsa filOfilie25 September 2016 at 21:03

      Merci beaucoup ! Je vais aller voir 😀

      Delete
  6. Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane25 September 2016 at 12:47

    I like the crystals in the center because of the sparkle! I love the simple one, but wonder if it would collapse on itself, something I always think about because I really don't like to take the time to stiffen my work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frivole25 September 2016 at 16:19

      Hi Diane, no it doesn't collapse even with the simple open centre. I rarely stiffen my work either.

      Delete
  7. West Pine Creations25 September 2016 at 15:41

    The beads make it "pop". Makes it look like a real snowflake, in the center and the tatting becomes an extension of that. Wonderful job!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jane McLellan25 September 2016 at 15:43

    You've had fun! I agree with Carollyn, Madtatter80, that was my choice before I read the comments.

    ReplyDelete
  9. SandyC26 September 2016 at 08:19

    Beautiful design....all of them, but I must say that I love the one with the crystal center the most. One of the reasons I like using filament is that it does tend to give more body to the motif as I don't stiffen my snowflakes. Your thoughtfulness in designing continues to amaze me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frivole26 September 2016 at 09:02

      Thank you Sandy! I agree with you about the filament... not only does it look pretty and particularly suited to snowflakes, but as you say, it also gives more body to the tatted motif without stiffening in any other way.

      Delete
  10. muskaan27 September 2016 at 14:51

    Crystals in center And the graduated ones on the arms - together - would be my choice :-)
    Beautiful design

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Frivole27 September 2016 at 15:18

      Thank you! I think I'll end up writing a pattern with variations... and also a version without beads as I always think beads are not for every tatter so it's always nice if the pattern works out without too.

      Delete
  11. Bernice29 September 2016 at 04:49

    They all look great but I like the one with the tatting in the center the best. Clever idea to use a star.

    ReplyDelete
  12. mika30 September 2016 at 06:51

    Śliczne. Najbardziej podoba mi się ten z kryształkami :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Tat-a-Renda30 September 2016 at 15:37

    Stars are wonderfully unique on its own. They don't join up very well, I think. There are always the blank spaces in between that I feel should contain fillers or insertions to tie the pieces together.

    ReplyDelete

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