Hooray for the first post of substance.

[elspethdawitch.livejournal.com]

So, I figure I ought to put something in here of value, to lure you all in. These are the patterns for two of my favorite patterns, two simple but beautiful medallions from my bible,

Graves, Mildred Ryan. The Complete Encyclopedia of Stitchery. Doubleday, 1979.












I tried to clean the scans up a bit...you can see the text and illustrations from the other side through the paper...I've done both of these in a fine thread but they ended up getting sewn on napkins for basket social baskets at work (Kings Landing Historical Settlement)...I plan on doing them over again when I have time. They take less than a day to do.

Comments

[guppygrrl.livejournal.com]

How does tatting differ crochet? Am I a step ahead in the game if I can already crochet, or could it be a hinderance?

It's interested me - I don't know if I'd do it often, but I'd like to be able to do it if I want to. *L*

~Kissy

[elspethdawitch.livejournal.com]

Crochet is made of interconnected loops - when you make a foundation chain, you're putting one loop through another; it's all one long thread, right? Well tatting is about rings and chains. You make sliding "larkshead" knots on another thread (or the same one but another part of the ring). Tatting is all pretty much one stitch that slides around, and what you can do with it. Crochet won't help you learn tatting - macrame might though. Crochet is, however, something nice to know if you get more advanced in tatting, because there are a lot of patterns that call for both - tatted hankie edgings are often attached by some crochet, and I even have an insane pattern from the 1880s for a coverlet that's made from tatted medallions with the in-between bits made in crochet.

So...I wouldn't consider it as easy as crochet (says a girl who can't crochet in the round yet, or make scallops or anything), but it's not really *hard*. You can pick out your mistakes but there's a point of no return where you have to cut things apart...other than that I can't think of anything the matter with it apart from a dirth of maintsteam supplies. They just don't sell tatting thread anymore, you have to settle for crochet thread and it's not quite the same, from what I hear...

[guppygrrl.livejournal.com]

How can you not make scallops? I made them by accident all the time when I first started crocheting. *snicker*

What finally made crochet *click* for me was some little kid's learn to crochet a hat thing I picked up at Joanns, and it's in the round. I think going in the round is a lot easier - no turning! *grin*

I'll make ruffled things on the edges of my crocheted pieces by sc, ch3, sc into the next stitch. So the chs are hanging in the air and end up ruffling. Or shells (dc, sc, dc in the same st).

I'll finally check out a tatting book after Christmas and see what it's about. The thing is...is there a use for it? I mean, is it purely decorative quasi-doily kind of stuff, or can you make, well, *things* (bedsides the bedspread - I can't bring myself to make one with yarn yet, let alone thread!)?

Heh, maybe you need to write a book with updated patterns to make tatting hip again. ;)

[elspethdawitch.livejournal.com]

Well I've done an edging that had scallops in it I think...it's shells I've never done. I've only ever crocheted in fine thread, never like...wool or anything. I have a hat pattern I might try if I can make it larger for my head (my head is not "one-size-fits-all" compatible)

Well see I work at a historical village, so like...hankie edgings and stuff are hip to me, heh. But yeah...you can make jewelry with it and ornaments and bookmarks and such. But I like the traditional stuff, personally.