#15 of 25 Motif Challenge

Yes! I'm still plugging away at this! For new readers, I'm participating in the 25 Motif Challenge hosted by Sharon Briggs. The idea is to tat 25 motifs of your choice within the span of a year. No penalties if you don't but many rewards when you do. It's one way to focus, to improve your tatting skills and to just have fun. So many people think they don't tat much but when you record your tatting, as you do in the Challenge, you might be surprised to see how much you really accomplish.

For this challenge, I'm going through the D.M.C. Tatting publication which can be found in the Antique Pattern Library. If you do a search in the left sidebar for "25 Motif Challenge", you will find my prior posts in this and the previous challenge I participated in.

This is figure 12 of Plate 2, an edging made up of a ring with 9 picots spaced with 2 ds between. Then a chain comes around with small rings thrown off and is joined in the middle of the ring picots.

As usual, I'm tatting the first sample in size 20 DMC Special Cordonnet. This is actually my second sample. In the first one, I left out the chain 4 between the large rings and then I tried to tat across where the crochet header is and it looked all wrong. Boo! Hiss!

So I did it again, the right way. (and still made a mistake in joining to the first ring!) I used a size 50 DMC thread for the crocheted header. The instructions say to treble in the picots but falling back on what I know of old crochet terms, this is really supposed to be a double crochet. I wish now I'd only single crocheted as it does set the header a bit high. There was supposed to be a chain 5 after the double crochets and then treble crochet at the base of the large ring and again at the join of the previous ring. This was too long and really bowed up so I shortened it to 4 chain stitches between. I could have made the treble another loop longer too but considering my previous samples, I was happy with this one. I used a size 12 steel crochet hook and this made the stitches tighter. As in previous headers, the next row is double crochet, skip 1 stitch, double crochet all the way across.

Here's a numbered scan. You start with the large ring, (2-)9X, 2, close ring. Make the 5th picot smaller since it is a joining picot. Reverse work, chain 3-4, switch working shuttles so you are using the ball shuttle and tat a ring of 6 ds, close the ring and switch shuttles back so you can chain 3. Repeat for 2 more small rings, chain 4-3, join to the 5th picot of the large ring, chain 4, then reverse work and start all over.

I bought these pillowslips at Walmart a few months ago with the intention of tatting or crocheting edgings on them. I've started tatting figure 12 but I'm using Josephine Knots instead of regular rings. I sort of wish I stayed with the regular rings since they go faster but I also wanted to see if they looked any different. I will not put a header on this and I may only put it on the stitching line of the hem. I've only got about 10" done of the 40" needed for one pillowcase. This is Lizbeth thread, size 20. I have another ball of variegated that coordinates with this one and may tat a simple edging if I put this one on the hem line.

And yes, I still have the flower edging for the blouse sleeves to work on. I've had it in my binder to show and tell at various times so I'll take it out and start working on it again, along with the pillowslip trim and the secret project I haven't shown yet. I DO like to have lots of projects going on at the same time but I have to watch that I don't neglect some and then forget what I was doing!

Motif #5 in 25 Motif Challenge

I had fun with this galoon and made lots of observations that I hope will help others who tackle this publication. This is the D.M.C. Tatting by Therese de Dillmont found free from The Antique Pattern Library. It's a wonderful repository for all kinds of antique needle art publications.

You might remember from the last post that I went back to the beginning and I am tatting the 6 patterns in Plate I. I just remembered that I tatted a ruffled scallop from another publication that I was going to show in this post but I need to tat it over. So I'll show it in another post. This one is going to be long anyway. Above is the photo in the publication of figure 2.

The pattern is worked in three rows but the second and third row are the same, just on different sides of the rings. The first row, which is the center line of rings, is written: With one shuttle: *3 stitches, 1 picot, 2 stitches, 1 picot, 3 stitches, 1 short picot, 3 stitches, 1 picot, 2 stitches, 1 picot, 3 stitches, close the ring = carry the thread under the ring and join it to the short picot = repeat from *.

So the ring is made with 1 shuttle like this: 3 - 2 - 3 ^ 3 - 2 - 3, clr
^ stands for "short picot"
You pull the shuttle thread from the closed ring under the ring and then pull it up through the short picot enough for a loop and put the shuttle through it like a shuttle join. Right next to the last ring, you begin another ring just like the last one and continue the same pattern for the length you want.

I realized as I drew it out before tatting that this is a very clever away to achieve the same line of rings we usually do with split rings. I originally thought the thread going under the ring was decorative and gave it an extra lacy effect but it is just plain practical.

I decided to tat a row of split rings in the same pattern and see how they compared. I had 16 rings in the original length so I tatted 16 split rings. Both are tatted in DMC Special Cordonnet, size 20. As you can see, the split ring length is shorter because you don't have any space taken up with the tiny picot join. The split rings are tatted 3 - 2 - 3/3 - 2 - 3, with 2 shuttles, of course. I also left a tiny picot at the beginning point of the first split ring to join the 2nd and 3rd rows to. That was just personal preference. You might use the galoon differently and chose not to.

I also want to point out that the rings were tatted in the same direction. In other words, the end where the tails show is the end of the length. I started at the opposite end in each, but does it look that way if you are only looking at the rings? I think I would guess the split rings actually started where the tails are if I didn't know better. The only thing I can think of at the moment is that the first line of rings with the thread pulled up through the tiny picot puts some tension on the ring and makes it rounder. Any other suggestions are welcome.

I've tatted the 2nd/3rd rows on the original. The instructions say: With 2 shuttles: Fasten the threads to the 1st picot of the first ring: *1 stitch = join the right hand threads to the 2nd picot = with the two shuttles: 2 stitches = with the left hand shuttle: 4 stitches, close the ring = with the two shuttles: 2 stitches = join the right hand thread to the 1st picot of the next ring and repeat from *

What this means is that the row is chain work with a ring thrown off the chain. I put most of my thread on the chain or ball shuttle and only enough to cover the distance with the ring shuttle. To cover the distance, I usually figure the length I'm going with the thread plus half more. So if the length were 12", I would put 18" on the ring shuttle unless I am also tatting some rings with it.

I joined in the first picot at the left, ch 1, j to the next p, ch 2, r 4 with the ch shuttle, ch 2, j to next p. This is where I started so you just continue the same pattern all the way. *+ (join)ch 1 + 2, r4, ch 2, repeat from *

I went all the way around, improvising a chain and ring at the end.

I did the same thing with the split ring length except I made Josephine rings instead of a small ring of 4 ds. Some vintage designers really liked small rings but I find them kind of ugly unless you are using a fine thread. Since the small ring was 4 ds, that meant 8 half stitches so I made the JK 8 first half stitches. I think they lay nicer than the small rings but you can do it either way. I've put the two together here for comparison.

Another difference I noticed was that the one with the thread pulled through the tiny picot tended to turn on me and I had to be very careful when tatting the 2nd and 3rd row to make sure the thread was underneath the ring.

Now I like to take these patterns one step further, besides updating the pattern, I like to find another way to apply it and I like to tat it in color. I already had a shuttle wound in Lizbeth Springtime and then didn't tat what I had planned so it became this. I used the original method of rings, pulling the thread up through a tiny picot, but I used Josephine knots instead of small rings.

Then I crocheted a little flower to cover where the ends meet. My plan was to tat a band for a plain candle votive holder I have and I was hesitant to join the ends permanently. Once I was done and pulled it around the glass, I found I had measured correctly and it slides on very nicely as you'll see in the next photo.

I thought about gluing it on but I really hate to use glue on tatting unless I have to. This way, the band can be slipped off and washed if need be.

I liked it so well that I've added another photo for you!