newbie alert

[fntm.livejournal.com]

Hello! My name is Lindsay and I'm a multifaceted artist. I draw, sculpt, knit, sew, and a whole bunch of stuff in general. Before today, I had never even heard of tatting. My interest peaked immediately after I saw this photo over at craftzineblog



I'm now incredibly fascinated with tatting, and I've started watching a few tutorial videos on YouTube, but there really aren't a lot of resources. It seems like tatting isn't the most popular craft right now, so I'm having a very hard time finding instructional books. Could you guys help me out? I would really appreciate some book suggestions or any resources that would be helpful to beginners. (Oh, if only Debbie Stoller had a book on tatting..)

ALSO! I have a couple questions. How different is needle tatting from shuttle tatting? Is there a preferred method? Do you find that one is easier than the other?

Thanks! With any luck I'll be posting projects of my own here in the near future. :D

Comments

[chamois-shimi.livejournal.com]

I'm very much a newbie myself, I started learning shuttle tatting this summer while traveling but haven't been able to get back to it with new baby and all. I LOVE that image from craftzineblog!

I started out trying to learn needle tatting several years ago, but couldn't make head or tails of it - somehow I always ended up with rings that were impossible to close and threads going the wrong way. I found shuttle tatting much easier to wrap my brain around, for whatever reason.

I also found that while learning and only making endless rings trying to figure out how it works, you don't really need a shuttle. Embroidery floss wrapped around a little bit of cardboard works great. Heh.

This is how I started out:
http://www.hhtatting.com/learn.html
http://www.georgiaseitz.com/2004/design.html
http://www.be-stitched.com/tat.asp

[teikasmom.livejournal.com]

Hi! I find needle tatting much easier. If done properly, it can be taken back if you make a mistake. Learn Needle Tatting by Barbara Foster is a beautifully illustrated teaching book (about the size of a magaine). She is the guru of needle tatting. BTW, I also shuttle tat.

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

I think that needle tatting is supposed to be easier, but (I think, personally) that shuttle tatting is prettier. Forgive my bias, as I shuttle tat. ;) The only hard thing about shuttle tatting is making the stitches flip upside down. Once you get it, it's easy. I learned from a book called Easy Tatting, by Rozella Linden (I think). There are also heaps of websites out there, like this one: http://www.geocities.com/tatrasutra/how2tat.html. Good luck!

[alien_sunset]

I've been tatting on and off for about 4 years now, all self taught, mostly by the internet.

i prefer shuttle tatting.
you don't have a long pointy thing to worry about loosing and sitting on or anything, and i find the shuttle easier to hold and maneuver.

there is a neat little group of tatters over on http://etatters.ning.com/
and this is the site where i originally learned to tat: http://www.geocities.com/tatrasutra/how2tat1.html

for books and supplies, check out handy hands: http://www.hhtatting.com/

[gretaorgayle.livejournal.com]

Any of the books by Barbara Foster are good to help get you started in tatting. I tat on a needle and have yet to find a pattern I can't convert from a shuttle tatting pattern. I can't shuttle tat to save my life. I've tried, lots of times....even have my grandmother's shuttles. They're pretty much just keepsakes. Needle tatting I can just about do blindfolded. I find it's much easier. But, depending on who you talk to, everyone is going to have a different opinion. You may find one works for you and the other doesn't....my suggestion would be to try both and see which you prefer.

[aspiemama.livejournal.com]

I also prefer shuttle tatting. I recommend the "Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework" as a learning text. It costs around $30, so it isn't cheap, but it has the most clear instructions I have ever seen. I have had people go from no knowledge of tatting whatsoever to doing complex two-color patterns in just a week.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_diane/]

Hi! I also taught myself, using mostly internet sources. All of the links that others have mentioned are extremely useful.

I both needle tat and shuttle tat, and which is easier probably just depends on how your brain works. I find needle tatting to be faster, but I like the look of shuttle tatting better.

That piece is by totusmel on etsy, who is a needle tatter:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=36519

[betsybookwyrm.livejournal.com]

Hi! Tatting is well worth being fascinated with :)

I like shuttle tatting. It's really just a matter of personal preference, I think. They each have a few advantages, but they're more or less the same.

I learnt from The Complete Book of Tatting by Rebecca Jones. There are several books out there with good instructions, and you can sometimes find them in real, solid bookstores, too :)

There are several really good pattern websites out there, but it's probably best to get a comprehensive book to learn from.

Good luck and enjoy!

[moniqueleigh]

Welcome to the group! I'm another shuttle tatter (self-taught around 1999). I own needles, but I have yet to sit down with them and learn the differences.

While there are some patterns that supposedly can only be done with a needle (unless you really like unwinding your shuttle to pass the thread through a tiny space and then re-winding the shuttle in order to continue tatting - ugh), I've yet to hear of any patterns that can only be done with the shuttle. So, point for the needle tatters! :D

On the other hand, you can generally load a lot more thread on a shuttle than can comfortably worked in one pass with the needle. So, point for the shuttle tatters! (And, since I hate hiding ends and just cannot seem to get the magic thread trick to work, it's the shuttles for me!)

Tatting seems to have lost popularity around the last half of the 20th century, but luckily it's never completely gone away! There are quite a few (very prolific) designers about now too, especially since the advent of the internet & easier self-publishing. :) Along with the sites and groups mentioned so far, Yahoo groups has quite a few lists if you prefer email groups to message boards (or if you're like me and simply don't have time for Yet Another Board!). I belong to Here Be Tatters and Ring of Tatters.

[mind-ramble-on.livejournal.com]

the best site for pretty much any tatting questions you could think of:
www.etatters.ning.com

[mind-ramble-on.livejournal.com]

btw, the artist who made that beautiful mask is also a member of etatters.