More Than One Way To Skein A Tat

Day 117: A little over two weeks ago, I showed you how to transfer the knot in shuttle tatting. Since most people think of tatting as being made with a shuttle and the transfer is where the most common error occurs, I thought it was a valuable lesson. Today I'd like to demonstrate an alternate method for producing those rings and chains. In other words, there's more than one way to skein a tat! I'm referring to needle-tatting

Faster, more consistent, almost foolproof, needle-tatting differs from shuttle tatting primarily in the fact that double-stitches and picots, whether in rings or chains, are almost always made with the ball thread. The thread which runs from the needle only provides the core for the knots. In the photo, you'll see a standard shuttle with a ring just made. Just to the left of the ring, you can see a chain in progress on a tatting needle. Some of the picots have been left open so that you can see how a length of thread is left unknotted in order to leave a small loop (the picot). When a sufficient number of stitches has been made, the needle is drawn through and the work is snugged up. An overhand knot is placed at the end of the chain to hold it in place, and then the work is continued, making the next stitches as the pattern requires.

Yes, you, in the back of the room, you have a question? "Why, if needle-tatting is faster, idiot-proof and more uniform, isn't it the preferred way to tat?" I'm glad you asked.

Because needle-tatting stitches are formed over a needle of a given diameter, the knots do not snug down as tightly against the core thread as they do in shuttle-tatting. This makes the work somewhat less stable, particularly when picots are being formed. The knots on either side of the single-strand picot tend to seek a balance, gradually working loose and causing the picot to disappear after several washings. To prevent this, when I close a ring or draw up a chain, I tug each picot a little tighter with a needle or my fingers to help stabilize it. It's rather a pain in the neck, but as a trade-off for being able to complete a doily in just a few days, I actually prefer to tat with a needle.