Priscilla Tatting Book No. 2, what a great book! It contains many designs I love, including the Victorian Lattice Doily which I have now made several times.
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| Victorian Lattice Doily (that's the name I gave it as in the book it's only called "Doily") |
In the meantime though, I thought I'd tackle something a little smaller and edging no. 8 caught my attention.
I like it but I'm not happy with it at the moment. I like the shape of it but the round circles in the middle are really difficult to make neatly. It's a rather large ring that has 41 stitches and when I pull it closed, it tends to distort and not look even and symmetrical. I tried a few different things in the sample above and that's also why the edging doesn't look all the same (I changed some joins and tried the centre ring on a double core for example). I also don't like that the small rings at the bottom stick out further than the picots of the large centre rings... if you were to sew this edging onto something, would you just sew the small rings down and leave the large rings unattached? It seems to me it would be better if they were on the same line.
I'm planning on working on this edging some more to see if I could modify it a bit to solve some of those issues... and maybe even design a corner for it? Perhaps it will go around the corner quite easily without many modifications by simply omitting the bottom small ring and joining three repeats together. I need to test that.
Is the empty space of the big ring too large? Should I fill the centre with another smaller ring maybe? All comments welcome!
Frivole
Looks like a great edging! :) I will wait and see what you and/or others come up with!! ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, not had time to play with it anymore yet but hope I can find a solution. Otherwise of course, it works as it is but the large ring is a little difficult to make nicely.
DeleteI really like the empty space in the big ring. However, I think that I would have difficulty making a ring that large look nice and neat. I'd be interested in seeing how you could fill the space.
ReplyDeleteHi Diane, yes, still not sure if filling it somehow would look as nice but would like to find a way of being able to make those large rings look better!
DeleteMy all time favourite book. I seem to have lost my copy, glad there’s an online version. What would happen if you just made the centre ring a bit smaller? Would it be too crowded?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Jane, I love that book! Think I'd perhaps have to change everything else if I made the centre ring smaller. Not sure, need to explore more. :-)
DeleteYou might want to try a half-double double stitch for the large rings. Even a double-double stitch might work, although that tends to make the line of stitches thicker. Make a few test chains and a few test rings, comparing stitch count to the same length of normal DSs so you know how many half double DSs or double DSs to use to get the same size as the 'normal' DSs. For my tension, 4 DDS = 5 regular DS, but it may vary depending on the thread you are using, as well as your tatting tension. I can hardly wait to see what you come up with and how the corner looks.
ReplyDeleteStephanieW
Hi Stephanie, thank you for your suggestion. Do mean you go around the core thread twice instead of once for each half stitch?
DeleteOh, boy, how to answer you....I tat differently from most people. You do the 'over-under' motion twice before you flip the stitch and slide it down to meet the others. Half-double double stitch is half a 'normal' DS, and the other half stitch is 'double.' Regular double-double stitch is when you do BOTH halves of the stitch with the doubled over-under (or under-over) motion. I generally use the 2nd half of the DS as the 'doubled' one if I'm doing half-double double stitch, but either half works as long as you're consistent. (Also referred to as a 'balanced double stitch - see this video for confirmation on 'how to:' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYuPNqwX_kk
DeleteHope this helps.
StephanieW
Thank you Stephanie, it's the technique I use to make my padded petals. :-)
DeleteGreat observations 💜 I am facing a very similar issue with a 42ds ring here - https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2021/08/more-reflections.html
ReplyDeleteI finally settled on a mock ring with lock join. But now when I started a final piece with Lizbeth size 20, I find the shape more difficult to manage than with the perle cotton I used in the trial.
We learn something new each time 😀
Oh yes, you are right Muskaan! I've not played with it any more yet but I'd really like to find a way of making those really large rings behave better!
DeleteI'll go check out your blogpost!
DeleteOh no I hate doing big rings, they never come out the same but I do love this book, and I love that there is an online copy. If those lower rings were on the same line they would be easier/neater to attach as an edging.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what I'm thinking too Bernice. It needs to be a straight line for attaching. And yes, wonderful that this great book is available for all. :-)
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