In Search of Perfection, continued...

This continues on from the previous post.  I just finished the second motif, done in traditional tatting and I just wanted to post about it straight away.  The discussion is just getting going in the previous post and it's interesting as always.

So here is the same motif, done the traditional way (always starting with the first half of the double stitch, whichever side you're on and only doing up joins - have I got that right??).

By the way, this is "Mixed Bouquet" from the book "A Pattern Book of Tatting"

by Mary Konior

Traditional tatting, front-side

Traditional tatting, back-side

And finally here are both motifs.

FS\BS on top

Traditional tatting on bottom

Does this little experiment make it conclusive to any of you?

Best wishes,

In Search of Perfection...

Since that recent post about front-side/back-side tatting...  I can't stop thinking about it.  I feel perhaps I've not explored the option enough and tested it enough.  I do like to produce the best tatting I can and if that means I need to re-assess the fs/bs method, then I will.

In my last little attempt (see this post), I realise I didn't do the joins properly (up joins on the front and down joins on the back, is that right?).  So today, I tatted this motif by Mary Konior (who didn't do fs/bs tatting from what I can see on her pictures) which has lots of rings and chains and even rings on the backside to better test the look of fs/bs tatting.

Here we go:

This is the motif viewed front-side

And this is the motif viewed back-side

Part of the reason I was resisting using fs/bs tatting before is that I didn't like the idea of having an obvious front and back to my tatting.  I thought by using traditional tatting, both sides would look similar (though not the same).  But in practice, I still found that I preferred one side over the other (the side where the rings face upwards, if that makes sense).  The other reasons were that I didn't enjoy making "up-joins" and that I find it harder to count the stitches on the back-side.  I feel this slows me down and requires more concentration on my part.  But maybe it's just a matter of what you're used to?  Maybe if I used fs/bs tatting all the time, it would become a habit just like regular tatting feels comfortable to me now?

Being picky and examining everything in detail, I find the curves on the long chains are slightly less smooth (particularly at the Josephine Knot) but again that may just be because I'm less used to making them that way (i.e., 1st half, picot, 2nd half).  My motif also suffers a bit from "gaposis" on the trefoils (left and right) - improvement needed there.  Other small niggle, it seems to me the rings have more propensity for the last ds to roll out of place or is that my imagination?

And if I'm making JKs on the backside, should I make them with the 1st half of the double stitch?  They are easier to handle and look nicer when made with the 2nd half I find.

I'm now working on the same motif with the traditional method and will post pictures soon with the two motifs side by side for you to examine and comment (yes please, do comment!).

Best wishes,