Mixed media jewelry with tatting

 

What I usually do is pick the colors first! 

The hand dyed thread I chose for the tatted "flowers" is from the Misty Morning batch, along with some from Blue Skies, both size 10, as well as some size 20 Lizbeth in a solid light blue. 

The teardrop focal bead is Czech glass from BastetsBeads. 

The bronze colored non-tarnish wire is from Bello Modo. I used 16 gauge for the frame, 20 gauge for wrapping the focal bead, and 28 gauge for wrapping the tatting onto the frame. When wire wrapping tatting, I always wrap over the tatted double stitches, avoiding placing wire over a single thread, in order to keep the result as durable as possible. 

The tatting is a random arrangement of Josephine rings and chains of encapsulation technique, with the extra threads carried inside the chains until needed.

While wrapping the tatting onto the frame, tiny beads can be added where desired by stringing the beads onto the wrapping wire.

For macramé I like to use nylon cord in 0.5mm diameter. I appreciate the convenience that the many tails left over from macramé can be cut and melted with a lighter to secure them. The tatting knot can be done in macramé, too!

Wire wrapped touches can look very nice added to tatted lace earrings, too. This design is a variation on my simpler "Giddy" pattern which is published in the book Tatted Jewelry. 

(By the way, I no longer receive any royalties from that book, but I'm still pleased that my name is on the cover.)