(no subject)

[cerulean-wishes.livejournal.com]

Hi all,

I'm very new to tatting, as in started out two weeks ago, learning from youtube, literally.

In my area, there are only three craft stores, a Hobby Craft and the haberdasheries in two of the town's department stores which cater mainly to knitters and seamstresses (what is the masculine of seamstress?) The only crochet thread I can find only comes in 8 shades max, all of which are painfully pastel. Because of this I started looking online and to my luck I found a site for a company based here in the UK which sells a wide selection of vibrant tatting threads at reasonable prices with very cheap postage charges. The company sells polyester and cotton threads, cotton being about £1 more expensive than the polyester. I am planning on buying some of these threads, however I was wondering what the benefits and downsides of using polyester vs cotton are besides polyester being synthetic.

I'm very grateful for anything you guys have to offer.

Comments

[cerulean-wishes.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info, I guess it's just a preference and experience type thing, I won't know until I try, eh? :)

[majolika.livejournal.com]

I tried to tat with polyester crochet yarn once by mistake and found it annoying - prone to unravelling and slick in an annoying way. (Actually a bit like tatting with silk, without the shiny benefits.)

When I started tatting, I liked to work with a thicker variety of mercerized (cotton) yarn; it's easy to find wherever you find stitching yarn, and in very many colours. You can see the knots well and it's easy to correct mistakes; it's kind of slick too, but differently and not annoying.

seamster? sounds funny.

[cerulean-wishes.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the info, From the way it sounds, small picots would be hard to achieve in polyester if the stitches tend to come loose.

The thicker cotton threads are also limited here, They're pretty much all pastel and I find it hard to pick out a colour I like. It's one of the reasons why I've never crocheted lace.

[kelvandor.livejournal.com]

My experience has found that pure synthetic threads/cords tend to be very slippery and slick, as stated. The knots that are tied while tatting do not stay snugged up to one another and the whole piece of lace will want to have a very loose and grainy look. Some synthetics are worse at this than others, and I think that there are only two 100% synthetics in the regular (American) market anymore; nylon and rayon. (You can find Kevlar thread here, but I've not attempted to tat with it, so I don't know how it acts) Most of the threads found on this side of the pond that contain any polyester are mixed with cotton, with the percentage of each being varied.

Cotton and linen threads are not as slick and shiney. They also bind very easily, so the knots made while tatting will stay snugged up tight. This can make it difficult to undo any mistakes and, if your knots are very tight, can even make pulling a loop closed without breaking a thread a dubious task.

Compaired, synthetics are usually stronger threads with a higher 'break point' than natural materials. Natural fibers are much easier to dye and/or stain where synthetics are mostly stain resistant and are very hard to dye.

Hope this helps some...

[cerulean-wishes.livejournal.com]

wow, thanks!

I ended up ordering a couple of colours in both cotton and polyester so I'll compare the same pattern in both types of thread. I've used cotton thread before with my first attempt at tatting and had to start the project multiple times because of accidental knots which I just could not undo.

It seems like there's a massive difference in the British and American market as the shops that I've visited here sell 100%cotton thread in only 3 sizes and very limited colours. The only synthetic threads here are the sparkly types.

Thank you very much for the information! it helps a lot!

[ash1ar.livejournal.com]

I've only tried a synthetic thread once, and it was tough. I used a metallic thread alongside a cotton thread, using the two threads as one. I had to be very VERY careful, as it was quite difficult to avoid tangles. These days I stick to cotton and also use silk a lot. Cotton does tend to twist up on you less, but if you're patient and passionate about your end result, you'll find ways to manage with anything.

[aspiemama.livejournal.com]

You could look at online stores for threads too. I know lacis.com is a big one for tatters. Handy Hands also sells thread online and ships worldwide. Do a google search for tatting thread or tatting supplies and you will be pleasantly surprised with your options.