One Small Candle tatting pattern

 

"One Small Candle" is one of my original FREE patterns (see the free patterns tab at the top of this blog) or click this link: https://yarnplayertats.blogspot.com/p/my-free-patterns.html 

To help show some of the trickier parts of the pattern, I made a short video and posted it on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Link to the YouTube https://youtube.com/shorts/RyNqfnSTzV4?si=mcNcMGhbN5gymVIs  

For the example in the video I used size 20 Liz metallic gold for the base, Lizbeth size 20 in white for the "candle" and a vintage Flora thread for the red "flame". The finished motif measured 2 and 1/2 inches tall (6.35cm). I strung a fine thread through the tip of the flame for hanging.

The jacket again, with clover edging

 

The clover edging that I'd been tatting has now made its way onto the front of the white jeans jacket. The edging pattern and my video demo tatting it is on YouTube HERE.

The back of the jacket features a pair of wings at the top, pattern is from FairyLaceAndMore.

 The circular pattern in the center surrounded by tatted leaves is from a public domain vintage book that's available as a free instant download from the Antique Pattern Library: Priscilla Tatting Book no. 3. 

The floral edgings on the sides are a "make it up as you go" design. I tatted one, then used what I'd done as a pattern for the 2nd side.

The triangular design at the bottom is from my own "Daylily Dance" pattern, which I have for sale as an instant download in my Etsy shop.

My 2020 Tatting (and Weaving and Micro Macramé and Wire Wrapping)

In spite of the relentless chaos of the past year, joy was found in staying creative. Some of my favorite projects of 2020:

My design "Flutterby Heart"

My design "Petal Portal"

Zipper pull gifts

Handwoven towels all from the same warp

From a tutorial by Macramé Tita

From a tutorial by Macramé Tita

From a tutorial by Macramé Tita

My design "Flat Carnation"

My design Double Flower Celtic

Same vintage pattern tatted 40 years apart

Designing the "Daylily Dance" pattern in progress

My design, "Daylily Dance"

My jacket with tatting, still a work in progress

My design "Dissent" collar, inspired by a collar worn by Ruth Bader Ginsburg

An example of wire wrapping combined with tatting

My last tatted project of 2020

Colors of the Peace Rose

 

The Peace rose is one of my favorite flowers, and the colors inspired my dye batch by the same name. I've listed some of the thread on Etsy.

It's been about a year since I posted my free tatting pattern "Star Capella" so here's the link to the PDF pattern and the link to my YouTube video. The mirror reversed, aka left handed video is here.

While I was doing the Peace batch, I made a short video showing how I dye thread and posted it on my Facebook page and the smartphone app TikTok. I'm @marileerockley on TikTok, which is all short videos (less than 60 seconds) in vertical format. The still photos below show painting the dye on the thread, and the rinse bath after the dye has set. These are of the Peace batch I just made. So you can see that the dye colors are much darker when being applied than how they look on the finished dry thread. 

Wearing My Jacket Embellished With Tatting

 Epic fabric art? A try anyway, and fun to do. The designs are my own, except the top round motif on back. That pattern is from Priscilla Tatting Book No. 3.

The bottom motif is from my new pattern "Daylily Dance". I sewed all the tatting on by hand using sewing thread to match the jacket color.

I also have an olive green cotton jacket that needs embellishing! That one will need a different color scheme. Plenty of uses for tatting, putting more creative beauty into the world, one knot at a time.

New Original Tatting Pattern: Daylily Dance

 

My new original pattern is done! 

I've listed the PDF in my Etsy shop. 

It's actually triangular motifs, each inspired by colorful daylily flowers such as this. 

There's a good measure of "cut and tie" as each motif is made in 3 rounds. The triangles can be joined together along with the narrow filler motif to create larger projects. I joined 6 of them to make the doily featured.

In size 20 Lizbeth each triangle motif measures about 3 and 3/4 inches (9.5 cm). 

In size 10 Lizbeth each triangle motif measures 5 inches (12.7 cm). 

The doily shown is in size 20 Lizbeth thread and measures 7 and 1/2 inches (19 cm) across. 

The tatting techniques used: ring, chain, picot, floating ring, join, lock join, lock stitch. I've written the pattern from my shuttle tatting perspective, but I think needle tatters will enjoy it too. The pattern has diagrams also.

The color combination possibilities are endless!

Left handed Tatting a Simple Motif

This simple motif is good for beginners to practice double stitches, picots, rings, chains, and the join.

The right handed version has also been uploaded to my YouTube channel. Actually, the left handed video is simply my right handed original flipped mirror image using an app! Works great...except silly me, I forgot that "counterclockwise" would become "clockwise" in the lefty version. Oh well!

I used "Elisa" size 5 thread for the demo. I love the size and the thread is perfect! Oh, of course, I hand dyed it :-)

Free easy tatted star and snowflake pattern

Download the pattern as a PDF file by clicking HERE.

This is a very simple pattern that I've written up and used in teaching beginner tatting classes. Feel free to use it to teach others! Only the basic techniques of tatting are used: ring, chain, picot, join, and a little about sewing in ends.

Blue Streak and first cluny tatting

This batch has the "bluest" blues that I've dyed so far. The actual blue shades are difficult to capture in a photo. It varies from light to medium dark, cool to warm blue.

Something else that I've been working on these last few days, is learning to tat clunies, aka tallies.  I've known OF cluny tatting for many years, but never got around to learning how to do it. I just figured I didn't need cluny leaves. But, in case somebody asks me to teach them, I guess I'd better learn. To me, learning to tat a cluny feels like battling the final "boss" in a video game. If I get through this, I win! LOL ;-)

Not that it's the last technique I need to learn, heavens, no. There are a lot of tatting things I've never done yet. But, nothing seemed as intimidating to me as a cluny, therefore, with joy I'm showing off my very first cluny project. It's from a pattern by Stephanie Peters. So, off to practice some more, and maybe come up with a cluny design of my own in the new year.

Chemo Cap Project with tatting

This is the first time I decorated a cap for the Chemo Cap Project.

The tatted flower started out to be a different design, but I made a mistake, so... just kept going and made up a different flower. The center bead is surrounded by a self closing mock ring, and the motif just sort of grew out of that, using one shuttle and a ball thread.

I worked on this during the Fall Beading Retreat held by the Loose Bead Society. So, it was a "tatting in public" day for me, and a lot of fun! The event was also a convenient opportunity to learn some jewelry making tips from the excellent "crimp bead" demo that was given.

The "stained glass" effect

This is one unfinished example of what I've been working on this week.

I like the "stained glass" effect that comes from combining a bright multicolored thread (my own HDT "Roses" in this case) with black outlines. I'm attempting a series of variations on the same basic pattern, my own original "Wondrous Window", which I plan to submit as a collection to a magazine for consideration. Shown here is the space-filling effect from adding beads over crossed picots - my first time trying this technique. I was inspired to try it from seeing this technique used to perfection in tatted jewelry by Iris.

I have some skeins wound, and will be dyeing a batch of greens shortly.

Celtic knot shamrock

What I did was follow the well-illustrated celtic knot instructions from the book "Celtic Tatting" by Rozella Linden, adding a "stem". Then I added a 2nd round of rings and chains to form the shamrock, starting at the top. I used an "alligator join" at the stem, continued around, and finished with a short Lock Stitch chain and a ring for hanging. Actually, it ends up that the celtic knot isn't exactly centered, but I think it looks pretty anyway.

Ruth Perry has graciously provided the link to shamrock patterns from the Tatting Pattern Calender. You'll see other shamrocks there that use the celtic knot center.

Here is my basic Celtic Knot Shamrock pattern:

Rnd 1: Ch (18-2-2-) 3X, 18. Weave celtic knot, LJ to start. Ch 6 or so for stem. R 10, hiding ends.

Rnd 2: R 4+4 (to center p of the top). RW, Ch 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2. LJ to next p of center. Ch 5, LJ to next p.
Ch 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2. RW. R 4+4 (to next p of center). RW. Ch 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2. LJ to next p of center.
Ch 6. Alligator join around stem. Ch 6.
Ch 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2. RW. R 4+4 (to next p of center). RW. Ch 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2. LJ to next p of center.
Ch 5, LJ to next p.
Ch 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2. LJ to start of rnd 2. Lock stitch chain of 4 or so, then top R 6, j to finding, 6, hiding ends.
A variation I thought of but didn't tat would be to make it into a lucky 4 leaf clover by omitting the stem and using a 4th leaf there instead - I think the celtic knot would stay centered then, and the motif could be tilted by putting the hanging chain between leaves instead of at the top.


To be a shamrock though, I think it should have 3 leaves.

Anyway, the thread I used was size 20 for a shamrock about 1 and 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) across. The color used in the top one was "Celery", which I know I need to make more of. I also tatted one in "Forest" and one of the new "HH Lizbeth" colors from Handy Hands, varying the beads for different looks.

Inspired by Mary Konior

"Briar fragment" from "Tatting with Visual Patterns" by Mary Konior.

Actually, my attempt has more picots in some of the petals. I inadvertently added an extra picot in the first of the larger petals, so I just decided to be consistent!

This motif is something I'm going to use on a note card.