It is your choice on whether you learn needle or shuttle tatting or both, if both which order. I myself learnt needle tatting first than shuttle tatting after years of trying to learn shuttle tatting. This was much simpler for me to do in this order and is what I do suggest to others but everyone is different so it might be easier for someone else to learn in the other order. I will be trying to teach both of these ‘side by side’ in the beginners’ class so you do have the opportunity to learn them both at the same time if you would like. For those of you who don’t know I learnt to tat from our wonderful online tatting classes and tatting communities.

Supplies are very simple and as inexpensive or as expensive as you want to make it.

Needle Tatting – Tatting needle and two colors of thread such as DMC Cebelia size 10 it is a great beginner thread.
Shuttle Tatting – Shuttle(s) and two color of thread such as DMC Cebelia size 10 it is a great beginner thread for shuttle tatting too.

You can sometimes find these type supplies at JoAnn’s, Michael’s and those types of stores. Many of us do not have those types of stores available and even then the choice of product is limited. So many of us buy online. I have had good luck buying through Georgia http://www.georgiaseitz.com/ and through Handy Hands. There are many others but these are the ones I have personally dealt with in the USA.

So you want to start tatting and you have no supplies don’t you just hate that. Yeah so did I, so what I did was took a soft sculpture doll needle and took the point across sand paper to dull the point and I used crochet cotton from Walmart. The main thing is to remember the thickness of the needle has to be thicker or equal to the thickness of the thread that is being used with it – you have to take into account the thickness of the eye of the needle. Regular tatting needles are designed so that the eye is not any larger than the rest of the needle. Crochet cotton is stiffer and not as smooth as the DMC Cebelia that I recommended but many of us have tatted with it a lot if that is what one can easily get that is what they use. Another thing about thread is that the smaller the size number the thicker the thread so a DMC size 10 is thicker than a DMC size 80. Shuttles are easy when you don’t have any. I have a pattern on my site http://www.frontiernet.net/~TammyRodgers/shut_pat.html that was made with shrink plastic but you don’t need to use shrink plastic you can cut the same shape out of cardboard or a piece of plastic like the side of a milk jug etc naturally you would make it the finished size not the starting size.

As always you will find my methods are usually different then others as a life long crafter I seem to go with what works best for me and those I’m helping not what others perceive as best. So please ask questions and make suggestions these classes are for you.

I am sending you the techniques we will be working on for this week, 5 Oct, and next week, 12 Oct. The Chain = CH and the Self Closing Mock Ring = SCMR will allow you to make the majority of the patterns you will want to make as a beginning tatter. If you are thinking but I heard SCMR is an advanced technique forget that, needle tatters are taught the CH and SCMR from the very beginning so I say lets teach the shuttle tatters that way too so they can jump right into it like the needle tatters.

Needle tatters to see the Double Stitch = DS being made in movie form and read the direction go to:
http://www.frontiernet.net/~TammyRodgers/ndl_knot.html for Right hand
http://www.frontiernet.net/~TammyRodgers/rhtech.html for Right hand techniques

http://www.frontiernet.net/~TammyRodgers/ndlknotl.html for Left hand
http://www.frontiernet.net/~TammyRodgers/lhtech.html for Left hand techniques

Shuttle tatters to see diagrams for left and right hand tatters go to:
http://personalpages.tds.net/~tatting/ Carrie also has a movie for the right-handed tatter.

You will find some great step-by-step directions here:
http://www.geocities.com/tatrasutra/how2tat3.html
http://www.geocities.com/tatrasutra/how2tat4.html
For more shuttle movies go to:
http://www.gagechek.com/slb/demo/demo.html

Last but not least are the directions for the SCMR
http://www.geocities.com/gr8shuttles/scmrinstr2.html

If everyone does well with these techniques during class 5 October we will have a few patterns to play with on 12 October! I look forward to seeing you in class.