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[thesnarryfairy.livejournal.com]

hi! I just found your page, and you may be my life savers. I am trying to teach myself to tat, and right off the bat, I'm having a hard time. The book I'm working from is pretty clear and has good illustrations, however, i seem to be doing everyting backward. My knot, instead of having the treads facing my finger tip, and the loop facing my hand ( on the first half of a double stitch) is upside down, with the loop facing my finger, and tghe treads facing my hand.

After I complete both halves of the stitch, the stitch isn't on the bobin thread, but on the loop you put around your left and to start.... and so it goes.

Does anyone have any ideas what I am doing wrong, or can you point me in the direction I need to find the answers?

Thanks.

Comments

[aspiemama.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you are not popping the stitch before you pull it up. After forming your stitch, pull your shuttle thread as tight as you possibly can. The stitch should reverse, you should feel a small pop. Once that happens, keep the shuttle thread tight and slowly use your thread hand to pull the stitch up to the others (or to your thumb and forefinger if it is the first one in the ring/chain). After each stitch try pulling the shuttle thread through the formed stitches to make sure that it slides. If the shuttle thread does not slide then you need to pick the stitch out and redo it. The pop is perhaps the hardest part of the stitch to master.

Out of curiosity, what book are you learning from?

[thesnarryfairy.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice. I didn't know about the "popping". The book says to pull the tread taut, but it doesn't say that the direction will flip. The book is the Readers Digest "Complete guide to needlwork". I can't wait to try again.

[aspiemama.livejournal.com]

I was hoping that you were using that book, it really is the best I have ever found. I think they just hope you will check out the diagram and see the result of pulling the thread tight. If you are not already, I would suggest trying a large thread such as a size 5 (or an entire skein of embroidery floss) to train your eyes and your hands. It is a lot easier than starting with size 10 or 20 floss.

[thesnarryfairy.livejournal.com]

I've been trying with the 10, as I work with that quite alot with all of the crocheting I do. I actuly had a friend try to tat, using the same directions as me, and she was having the same problem. I think I'm just being myself, and a tactile learner, and need to have some one over my shoulder, saying " no, nut case, you have to do it THIS way..."

I will let you know if I ever get it right. ;)

[moniqueleigh]

Welcome!! I see that aspiemama has already given some great advice.

I agree that it sounds like your knots/stitches aren't flipping. You can "pop" or "flip" the knot slowly too if you need to see what's happening: after you pull your shuttle through, loosen the fingers holding the thread around your left hand, and sloooowly pull the shuttle thread taut. You should see the stitch "flip" so that instead of the shuttle thread being around the loop thread, you've got the loop thread around the shuttle thread. :)

Oh, and I forgot to mention, YouTube has some great video instructions, too! http://youtube.com/results?search_query=tatting&search=Search

[thesnarryfairy.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the YouTube address. I think that actuly SEEING it is going to help a great deal. I honestly had no idea about the threads flipping. When I tried to pull the shuttle thread to make a ring, instead of my stitches "bending" like they should have, my thread broke. That was my first clue that all was not well in my new world of tatting. !!

[moniqueleigh]

No problem! Not flipping is probably the most common issue for new tatters. :) The good news is: you have a head start on learning the split ring, needle tatting, encapsulating (tatting over curtain rings, bangles, etc.), & so on!

In needle tatting, etc., you'll be making UNflipped stitches that sit on top of the other thread (or whatever) & that don't move along that thread like "normal" stitches. See? You're ahead of the game! All you'll have to do is remember when to flip & when not to flip. ;)

[thesnarryfairy.livejournal.com]

I like that. I'm not having a hard time learning, I'm ahead of the game!!!

[thesnarryfairy.livejournal.com]

I got totally lost with this too. I don't know why, she did a really good job explaining it, and went nice and slowly. *sighs* I will get this.I'm just stubborn enough to do it until I get it right.

[aspiemama.livejournal.com]

I wish I was close enough to you to help you directly. Ever get to San Francisco???

If you have to, pull the shuttle thread until it digs into your fingers. It will take some time, but you should be able to get it in time. The biggest thing to remember is this: if the shuttle thread slides through the stitch you have done it right. If it doesn't slide then use the pick on the end of the shuttle to loosen the stitch and try again. Oh, the other hard part is remembering to loosen your thread hand. Don't loosen it too much, just enough that there is some give in the thread. If you drop your fingers too much the thread will fall off but if you don't drop your fingers and loosen the thread some then there is not enough give for the stitch to flip.

Don't feel badly that you are having trouble with this. When I teach people in person I spend more time reminding them to drop their fingers and flip the stitch than anything else. It takes longer for people to learn that than any other skill in tatting. Once you have the flip/pop down you will have it made.

[thesnarryfairy.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, i'm in Ct, so.... Nope, i don't get out to San Fran. too often. Okay, ever.
I think i may be having a hard time with which tread is the shuttle thread. Now to me this would be the thread comming from the shuttle, and wrapping around the threads in my left hand. Am i right, or not, because to me, the thread around my left hand does nothing and therefore, is passive. as such, it should be the one to move, and have the stitches slide on it, not the other way around.

Does any of this make sense?

[aspiemama.livejournal.com]

You have it right. The shuttle thread is the one that extends between the shuttle and the left hand. The hand thread is the one that you form the stitches around.

When you initially form the stitch it is formed around the hand thread. After the "pop" it should switch so that the hand thread forms the stitch and the shuttle thread runs through the center of the stitch. That is what makes it possible for the ring to tighten once you finish it. That is also why the "pop" is so important to master. That is also why I suggested using a much larger thread than size 10. If you have a larger thread then it is a lot easier to see the actual stitch, which is essential for learning to recognize what a stitch looks like when it is correct and what it looks like when it has not popped. Try using a larger thread or a skein or embroidery floss (wind the skein onto the shuttle using all six strands as one strand of thread). When you finish each half stitch compare what you see in your hand to the book you are using. If you look closely at the pictures you will find that the frames illustrating how to make each half stitch are followed by one that shows exactly what you should see in your hand if the stitch is correct. Comparing those frames with what you have in your hand will help a lot with figuring out if you are doing the stitches correctly.