12 October 2005 Beginners' Tatting Class

Georgia Seitz - Ribbonwinners
Tatting Patterns & Shuttles
1227 County Road 1760 E
Greenup, Illinois 62428 USA
AKTATTER@aol.com
www.georgiaseitz.com

Tammy Rodgers
Green.Fuzzer@gmail.com
Beginners Tatting
Classes

Hi friends!

I hope everyone has had a good week and have made progress with the chain (CH) and self-closing mock ring (SCMR). I hope you will find something interesting in this weeks class too, first I would like to tell you about a couple of changes that we would like to incorporate to the beginners class.

1. We started our Wednesday beginners' class schedule (5 Oct 2005)
2. Free chat starts at 8:20PM Eastern Time (-5 GMT)
3. Class starts at 8:30PM Eastern Time (-5 GMT) to give every one the full amount of class time

I have a special request I would like to try this week. When you sign in for tatting class and go to put in your nickname could you please add one of the following

-N (for those wanting to learn needle tatting)
-S (for those wanting to learn shuttle tatting)
-B (for those wanting to learn both)
No extra marking for those that feel you are past a beginner.
I think this will save valuable class time so I will be able to see at a glance who is working with what and won't have to ask, also this will allow you to change from one week to the next which you are working with. Perhaps you know a technique with the needle and not with a shuttle so this week you would put -S the week after that maybe you won't need to put up any extra marking after your nickname. I hope you will give this a try so we can see if it does help us or not, if it doesn't we can always stop, if it does help then great.

mIRC users you would do this on the mIRC Options page that first opens where it has nickname listed. Nickname is the only thing you would adjust everything else will stay exactly the same.

I have tried both of the things above and know they do work.

On to the lesson….Picots = P, Continuous Thread Method = CTM, simple patterns.

To do even the simplest patterns one usually is required to have picots = P. What is a picot = P? A picot = P is a loop of thread that is formed when a space is left between two DS while making the element. Once the second DS is made it can slide up next to the DS before it and the space the thread took up will now form a loop which helps give tatting its lacey look. Picots = P are a decorative element; they are a construction element as well, which we will look at further in the weeks to come.

If you look at the DS as it faces you it looks something like this you may have noticed how it looks like the DS has a waistband and pant legs. If you look at the other side of the DS you will still have both pant legs and two halves of waistbands this is the way it is suppose to be. As you make the next DS the other side of the tatting would show half the first half of a DS, a full DS and the second half of the DS. When we make a picot = P it is the waistband of the full DS on the other side of the tatting that will be come the picot = P, it sounds complicated doesn't it but its not.

Facing you

Away from you

In the sample I have the core thread or needle as gray and the ball thread as red. Lets "do/leave" a picot = P make a DS as normal it does not matter if you are a needle tatter or a shuttle tatter then make another double stitch but this time do not bring it up close to the previous double stitch you will leave a space it will look similar to this. Something to note here is that the long thread in red at the very top is actual the waistband of the full DS on the other side of the tatting.

Now you just slide the second DS up against the previous DS and the 'waistband' loops up as a picot = P because there isn't room for it to stay down flat like before. We haven't made anything we only left a space of thread and when we slide the DS together the space is gone and the loop is there. Really now can we get much easier than that? Did you notice with the picot = P loop going up like that the DS are not taking up anymore space side to side then if we did not allow the picots = P to be there? So if we made a SCMR of 12DS and no picots = P it is still the same size as SCMR of 12DS that has 3 picots = P that are evenly spaced. The picots = P will make it look larger but the actual ring is the same size. Neat, right?

Picots = P can be made various sizes by the size of the space left for them. Picot = P gauges are often used and there are a couple of ways to use them but for now we will not use them we want to get some basics down first. In a pattern a picot can be represented a number of ways it can be the word written out, or surprise the 'P' or hyphens '-' for a regular size '--' for a larger size and '---' for and even larger size. In a diagram a picot isn't mentioned it is shown with numbers between the picots, like in this picture.

As many of you have heard needle tatters can do the same pattern as shuttle tatters this is true. Something that always gets confusing is when a ring=R is stated in a pattern. As I taught you last week needle tatters normally learn the SCMR from the very beginning and don't even realize it so that is what I also taught you shuttle tatters. So in this first pattern Dove by JoAnn Stearns AKA The Silver Shuttle http://www.frontiernet.net/~TammyRodgers/birdy.html everyone will be using the SCMR where it says R you may think this is confusing at first but it is only because you have the luxury of learning the correct term for the element you are doing. In the needle tatting book that I first seen the needle tatted R done in this way was NOT stated with its correct name OR at that time the name had not be developed yet. Since we know the term we will learn it as we learn that wow we can use SCMR in place of the R isn't that wonderful! Knowing that you will be using the SCMR to make the Dove pattern try the CTM for winding your shuttle or threading your needle. You will only need 24" to 36" (61cm to 91cm) on your shuttle or needle.

Things to do when making a pattern the first time:

1. Read through the pattern at least twice to see if I think I will be able to under stand it. I don't need to understand every twist and turn this second but are there any terms I do NOT know that I want to get help with first before going further.

2. What will I do with my thread ends? (I will need to know how my project will be used.) Can I knot my ends and cut the threads close on the back because it will be mounted in a frame and not seen? Can I use the ends of the threads as part of the hanger on a Christmas ornament or bookmark? Do I need to hide them inside my DS? For the dove you will be knotting the threads on the back and trimming them close as it is just a little something you can give out to whomever you want to, glue to a note card, perhaps it isn't a dove maybe you see the birdie as a partridge in a pear tree on a hand made Christmas card so the knot side is glued down.

I know we haven't talked patterns yet. I'm confident you can understand the dove pattern, if not I'm here to help. Remember the number tells you how many DS to make, the - tells you how large your P is.

Have fun, I will see you in class.

If you look at the DS as it faces you it looks something like this you may have noticed how it looks like the DS has a waistband and pant legs. If you look at the other side of the DS you will still have both pant legs and two halves of waistbands this is the way it is suppose to be. As you make the next DS the other side of the tatting would show half the first half of a DS, a full DS and the second half of the DS. When we make a picot = P it is the waistband of the full DS on the other side of the tatting that will be come the picot = P, it sounds complicated doesn't it but its not.	Facing you Away from you
In the sample I have the core thread or needle as gray and the ball thread as red. Lets "do/leave" a picot = P make a DS as normal it does not matter if you are a needle tatter or a shuttle tatter then make another double stitch but this time do not bring it up close to the previous double stitch you will leave a space it will look similar to this. Something to note here is that the long thread in red at the very top is actual the waistband of the full DS on the other side of the tatting.
Now you just slide the second DS up against the previous DS and the 'waistband' loops up as a picot = P because there isn't room for it to stay down flat like before. We haven't made anything we only left a space of thread and when we slide the DS together the space is gone and the loop is there. Really now can we get much easier than that? Did you notice with the picot = P loop going up like that the DS are not taking up anymore space side to side then if we did not allow the picots = P to be there? So if we made a SCMR of 12DS and no picots = P it is still the same size as SCMR of 12DS that has 3 picots = P that are evenly spaced. The picots = P will make it look larger but the actual ring is the same size. Neat, right?
Picots = P can be made various sizes by the size of the space left for them. Picot = P gauges are often used and there are a couple of ways to use them but for now we will not use them we want to get some basics down first. In a pattern a picot can be represented a number of ways it can be the word written out, or surprise the 'P' or hyphens '-' for a regular size '--' for a larger size and '---' for and even larger size. In a diagram a picot isn't mentioned it is shown with numbers between the picots, like in this picture.