#10 in 25 Motif Challenge

Yee Ha! I'm making up for lost time!

Alrighty! This is the first of eight edgings in Plate 2 of D.M.C. Tatting. It's titled as Figure 7 and is the simplest, except for perhaps Figure 8, in the series.

I used the trusty DMC Special Cordonnet size 20. It took 2 shuttles as a ring is thrown off of the chain. I suppose you could do the shoe lace trick but the rings are always a little wonky, leaning one way or the other when you do that. Blocking helps. It's just easier for me to go ahead with 2 shuttles. I put 3 yards on the chain shuttle and a little over 1 yard for the ring shuttle. I tatted all of it for this length of 7 3/4 inches.

This is just the first part. I did do directional tatting but the rings are so tiny that it's doubtful you can even tell. Using the ring shuttle, tat a ring of 2-2. Then reverse the work and chain 5. Using the ball shuttle (or chain thread, however it makes sense to you), tat a ring of 1-1-1-1, close the ring and then go back to using the ball shuttle as your chain thread and chain 5. Reverse work and tat the small ring of 2-2, same as you began with. Continue in the same manner for the desired length. Make sure you snug up the chain stitches before tat the ring on the chain.

On the original, the header is crocheted but I just didn't want to diddle with it. I used size 40 thread and put a few yards on my shuttle, leaving it connected to the ball. I joined in one of the small rings at the end and tatted a small ring of 5-5. It was a completely arbitrary number and the next time I might make it slightly smaller. Then I tatted a lockstitch chain of 6 stitches. In a lockstitch chain, you flip one stitch of the ds but not the other one. It really doesn't matter which order as long as you are consistent throughout. I then joined in the next small ring and tatted another ring. You do have to reverse the work to tat the ring and then reverse again to tat the lockstitch chain.

When I got to the end of the piece, I tatted a split ring in the last ring. since I wasn't using 2 shuttles, I just made the ring around my hand extra big and used the ball of thread like a shuttle. It was a little awkward but it was only 5 stitches and the only split ring.

From there I turned to go back and tatted the same lockstitch chain, 6 stitches to each segment and joined in each ring picot across. The number of stitches and size of the small ring might change according to the size thread you are using.

Here's a close up of the finished edging.

It ended up being the perfect length for a bag I want to embellish.....but then I don't have a sample for my sample book so I'm tatting another one.

This one is in Finca size 16, much smaller, and with beads. I'm having second thoughts. I think it will be okay but it just seems so tiny compared to the white sample! I hope to finish it up tonight but I'm also preparing for a family thing tomorrow so it might not be til Monday.