Monday, February 13, 2012

Tatting a mock ring with bead in center

A self-closing mock ring (often abbreviated as SCMR) is actually a tatted chain with a loop left at the beginning. To add a bead in the center, tat to reach halfway around the bead, then slip the bead onto the loop. Here I've put the bead onto a small crochet hook and I'll use the hook to pull the loop through the bead, but there are other ways to do it, too.

After the bead is placed onto the loop of thread, put the shuttle though the loop. A trick I like to use is to leave a paper clip in as a space saver, to make the final join easier. The paper clip is hanging between the start of the tatting and the bead, so it's sort of like holding a small picot temporarily.

Continue by tightening the core (shuttle thread) around the bead.

Here the bead is in place. Continue tatting the rest of the way around the bead.

Now the paper clip is removed, showing the space it had been saving. This is where the crochet hook is inserted to pull the shuttle thread through.

Finish with a lock join.

Bead in center of completed mock ring.

This is a technique I use often in my tatted jewelry.
 The pattern for the above example uses one shuttle and ball thread.

Supplies: size 20 Lizbeth thread, an 8mm round bead, and 24 size 11 seed beads. (To use a different size thread or beads, the stitch counts will need to be adjusted to fit). 

String the 24 seed beads onto the ball thread, then wind just a small amount of thread onto the shuttle. The beads remain on the ball thread.


SCMR 2, (bead picot with 3 beads, 2-2) 3 times, bead picot with 3 beads, 2.
Place the round bead onto the loop that was left at the beginning, put the shuttle through the loop, and tighten around bead.
Continue the SCMR with a picot at the end of the round bead, 2, (bead picot with 3 beads, 2-2) 3 times, bead picot with 3 beads, 2.
Tighten, then lock join to base of round bead.

This is how much I have shown in the photos. I hope this will give you an idea that you will enjoy using.

28 comments:

Tatfully Yours said...

Thank you sooooooo very much in showing this technique with such well taken pictures!!! I am a needle tatter but can see how I can do this same mock ring with bead center as you have done!!!
I must go and give a try now!!
Thanks again,
Kelly

Miranda said...

Yes, I love this technique! In fact, I sometimes convert regular rings to mock rings just because this method of adding the bead is so much easier.

Lelia said...

thx for sharing. Very helpful Marilee : )

Marilee Rockley said...

Thank you!
To convert the technique to needle tatting I think this is what would be done:

Tat the first part of the ring, then pull the needle through, but leave a loop of thread and add the bead.
Then, put the needle through the loop.
Needle tat the remainder of the ring.
Pull the needle through the stitches, then put the needle through the small loop at the end of the bead, and tighten.

Heather of Tatted Treasures said...

Merilee. Thank you for sharing. You always have such clear pictures. I've been wanting to learn how to do this and it looks so easy now that I see it, I need to go try this now.

Kelly said...

Thanks so much for sharing your technique!

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

You make it look so easy! Thanks for sharing the technique!

Kathy Niklewicz said...

Wonderful photos and descriptions, as usual! This is a very neat way of adding the big bead in the center. I also like the effect of the triple beads.

I was very happy to have your excellent 'Catherine Wheel Join' video this weekend to tat Frivole's heart pattern, but I haven't quite mastered the join yet. Definitely my fault, not yours!!

Halina said...

I tried it and it worked. I love your pictures and descriptions, great quality.

Anonymous said...

WOW this is great. I never understood this before. Thank you!

Tia said...

YAY!, Thank you Marilee! Finally another technique that I didn't understand has been expertly explained & I "Get it"!

miscellanea said...

Great explanation. And the little motif is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Petra

am I still me? said...

You make it look so easy and do-able. I will have to give it another go. Thanks.

Unknown said...

Thanks to share your tutorial, I will try my self to learn this as for the moment I am struggling to understand how to tatt, you are doing great thinks with this techniques .

MATUTINHA said...

Eu trabalho com frivolité mas não sabia como colocar a miçanga no meio do motivo. Graças a você eu descobri como fazê-lo. Obrigada por sua generosidade. Vou seguir seu blog.

Bree at "Bree's Way" said...

excellent tutorial, I learned something I wanted to for quite a while now, and your pictures help explain it very well. Thank you very much.

lidia said...

Your work is really great!!! Thank you so much.

Valentine Pierce said...

Have been looking at SCMR videos for days but couldn't quite get it. Got your explanation, though, and the pictures was extraordinarily helpful.

Unknown said...

I have seen pictures where the beads were in the center, but had never been able to figure out how to do it neatly. Thank you for sharing this technique.

päpä said...

Thank you for this good tutorial. I am looking easy and nice needle tatting models for my crochet yarns, which I have dyed with natural dyes. Have too many beads also, great to use those too!
Greetings from Finland :)

Bludragon said...

thank you so much for posting this, i have seen several tutorials for this method but none were as clear as this.

OSF Infotech said...

Can you show some pics of this technique of adding bead at centre with needle tatting

Madtatter80 said...

Love your wonderful direction's and nice pictures!

Mrs. Fink said...

OK, so thanks to your excellent tutorial I can do one bead surrounded by tatting, but how do you make a row of split rings with beads in the center? Do you reverse work or...? For some reason the next step is eluding me! Help! :)

Marilee Rockley said...

Kristen, I use Jane Eborall's method of putting a bead in the center of a split ring. In fact, most of the beaded tatting techniques that I use I learned from Jane's excellent Tips and Techniques page! Here's the link to her page:
http://www.janeeborall.freeservers.com/TipsTechniques.htm

josepa said...

Gràcies,molt ben explicat és la primera vegada que ho veig. Soc de Barcelona i l'idioma és el català.

Barbara said...

Thank you so much for your gracious tips! I so want to use beads in my tatting but I just can't seem to do it well. Your tip is genius, thank you so much!

Eureka Fabrics said...

Thanks for this. And thanks to Marilee for the conversion to needle tatting. Super helpful.