Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Pointed snowflake with double picots


Here's the pattern for this pointed snowflake with double picots. It's made using one shuttle and the ball thread.

Mock ring in progress
Wind 2 yards onto the shuttle, leaving a continuous thread between shuttle and ball.
Start with a self-closing mock ring (a chain with a large loop left at the beginning):
3 --3 - 3 -- 3 - 3 -- 3 - 3 -- 3 - 3 -- 3 - 3 -- 3 (6 large and 5 small picots). Put shuttle though the loop at the beginning, and close the mock ring.

Lock stitch to form 6th small picot.
Lock stitch to form 6th small picot

* Ch 3 - 3 - 3 - 3.  Do not reverse work.

R 4, very large picot (about an inch or more when open), 2, join into the picot to form double picot, 4, close ring. Do not reverse work.

Ch 3 - 3 - 3 - 3. Lock join to next small picot of mock ring.
Double picot in progress

Continue in same manner from * until you have all 6 points of the snowflake.

Hints:  The mock ring (self-closing mock ring, or SCMR) at the center is made just like tatting a chain, with a large loop left at the beginning. It's also known as an open end chain. When you've tatted all the double stitches that you want for the SCMR, you just put the shuttle through the large loop, and pull to close. 

The double picot is really easy. It's just a large picot that you join into again farther along in the tatting. I like using a "down join" for these, followed by the 2nd half of a double stitch to complete the join, but any way of making a normal picot join (a join that slides!) will work. You can slide the double picot in its join to adjust how the 2 parts look.
1st point completed with lock join

Notice that the ring at the point is not a "floating ring". The difference between a floating ring and the ring at the point of this snowflake design, is that a floating ring would be made with the "ball thread" wound onto a 2nd shuttle in order to preserve a rounded curve for the chain. In this design, I wanted the pointed shape, so I used only the one shuttle.
In size 40 Lizbeth, the finished snowflake measures a bit less than 2 inches (5 cm) across. The finished size will vary depending on the size of thread used, and the working tension of each individual. 

Credit for the pretty shuttle in the photos goes to Lace-Lovin' Librarian Diane - she "blinged" it herself, and I was very lucky to receive it as a gift!


30 comments:

** jess! ** said...

Gorgeous! Thank you for the pattern!
You are fabulous! <3

God's Kid said...

It's beautiful!!! :)

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

Thank you for the pattern. It's beautiful!

Michelle said...

This is very pretty! I can't wait to try it!

Ladytats said...

pretty snowflake,
pretty shuttle,
thank you for the pattern.
Have a great Thanksgiving.

Kathy Niklewicz said...

This is a sweet snowflake and amazing tutorial (as usual). I truly don't know how you find the time for all the shows and traveling and tatting and blogging and writing patterns (for a book, even) and doing videos - at a studio! You've had quite a year! I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving weekend! We are very thankful for all of YOUR many talents and your many contributions to Tat Land!

nuta said...

It's very pretty!

tattrldy said...

Gorgeous! Thank you for sharing the pattern with us.

Margarets designer cards said...

Gorgeous thank you for sharing the pattern.
Margaret

Phyllis said...

Thank you for sharing the pattern. Your instructions and work are always detailed and nicely done. Have a happy holiday.

Sally Kerson said...

Oh great another snowflake pattern, will certainly be using this one, thank you.

Jane McLellan said...

Very pretty, thanks for the pattern.

Sara said...

Thankyou so much for sharing this pattern, the snowflake is so pretty!! And your instruction is so well done - I have learned a lot of tatting world in english by looking at them and reading your pattern!

Bonnie said...

I like your snowflake! Thank you for sharing the pattern.

codzienna said...

Piękna gwiazdka! Pozdrawiam :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Marilee
I've started to make your lovely snowflake. I have made the mock ring, and the chain and formed the first large picot followed by 2 (I presume 2 ds). I am then unable to make the second, small picot despite trying to follow your illustration.

Could you please tell me where I am going wrong?

Many thanks.

Anne

Gary and Jolene Jaster said...

Please tell me what the R means (after chain 3-3-3-3) in the snowflake pattern. Thank You. Jolene

Marilee Rockley said...

"R" means ring.

Anne, it sounds like you're having trouble with the double picot. This is how it is done: Join to near the middle of the large picot, in the same way that you join to any picot on a ring. Then, you will see the small picot formed as a result of joining into the large picot. You can adjust the sizes of the 2 parts of the double picot by gently pulling on it. Tat-Man has made a video showing the double picot technique on YouTube: http://youtu.be/olXBh_LPN4Y

Ladytats said...

@Anne & @Jolene,
the R4 after the chain means that you take the shuttle you are using for the ball, and make a ring of 4ds very large picot 2ds join to the large picot 4ds close ring.

Then shuttle 2 once again becomes your ball thread, until you need it for the next point.

Marilee Rockley said...

@Ladytats - no!!! This is a one shuttle pattern. The ring after the chain is NOT a floating ring. If done with a 2nd shuttle, there will not be a point, but a smooth curve instead. A pretty variation, to be sure, but not the same. Just to try and clarify. Guess I should have taken a lot more photos :)

Ladytats said...

I apologize Marilee, I jumped in with both feet without looking.

Marilee Rockley said...

Ladytats, thanks much, and I really do appreciate your help! I forget how much tatting stuff I take for granted :-)
I guess I need to do a post about floating rings compared to... whatever they call the rings that "don't float"... will research that subject when time allows.

Unknown said...

Hi there, I'm looking at signing up for your class and buying my first tatting shuttle on Thursday, yay! Out of curiosity could someone please tell me approximately how long it would take for a non-novice to complete this project?

Barbara Gordon said...

Marilee, I got home and went and got the doily pattern right away. I just loved it...! Got a few others to, like you had with you today.

Le'Quita H. said...

I'm a beginner at Tatting. I'm using a needle, it looked easier vs the shuttle but I'm going to give this a try. thank you for sharing your gift with us as well as your pattern.

Sarah said...

Thank you for sharing the pattern! I've made several this evening (with a few variations) and am quite enjoying it. I do have one question - in the pattern it says the ring is 4-----2+4, but it looks from the picture like that 2 should actually be a 1 - was there a typo? At least the ones I'm making look like the photo when I use 1 instead of 2 there.

Marilee Rockley said...

Sarah, thanks for your comment and I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying tatting the snowflakes! I did put 2 double stitches between the large picot and the join; the double stitch that forms the picot, and then 1 more. That's a total of 2. In any pattern the picot is only the loop that exists between double stitches. The double stitch that is made while forming the picot counts as "1" in the next part of the pattern. Hope this makes sense.

Sarah said...

Thanks for confirming we count the same way! Not sure why mine was looking different, though I did end up tatting most of mine with 1 - just posted a picture on my blog of the pointed vs rounded chains for this pattern.

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