Lockstitch

[Sheryl]

Is is possible to create a lockstitch chain in needle tatting? Really, I'm just curious, I'm a shuttle tatter, and it's easy for a shuttle to make this move (flipping the first half of the stitch.. not flipping the second), but I wasn't sure it there was a way to reproduce it with the needle.

Thanks!
Sheryl

[BlueDode]

Sheryl:

An opinion: using a typical LONG tatting needle, it would be possible, doing one hitch at a time and two needles, but probably a nuisance.

Another option: You might also forget the needle and do repeated "right over lefts" or "left over rights" (granny knots) - "finger tatting".

Alternatively, you might try rethreading your needle thread with a tapestry needle and use this needle like a shuttle, flipping and then not flipping each stitch -- the shorter tapestry needle would be handier to use than the much longer tatting needle. To DeHaan VanBeek's book shows how to tat using a needle as a shuttle (NOT Barbara Foster's Needle tatting method).

[Sheryl]

Thanks! I was just trying to figure out what the move would be... sounds like it would be an awkward one though!

[PattyD]

Every new technique, here needle tatted lockstitches, is awkward at first. At the speed that needle tatting is developing, this is a very pertinent question. Some needle tatter somewhere has been wondering how to do this and a lot of other things, too. We just haven't heard about it very much.

[Mogs]

To do the lock stitch with the needle, pull the needle thread up or down through the picot and then pass the needle through the resulting loop. Snug it down tight et voila! Thanks to Roger at Needletatting.proboards.com for this one!,
Carole x

[ashicka]

well.. I have no idea really, but speculation says that you could use two working threads and one core, just knot string a over b, then b over a.. but that sounds way complex for such a simple stitch. I would guess that it could be done with two needles.. but again that sounds over complicated. I almost think that this might actually be something that can't effectively be done with needle.. or at least not done with any great speed and ease..... great. like I needed an excuse to pull out the needles today! lol. I'm going to try some stuff out and I'll get back to you all on this.
Oh, and here is a link to a LSC for those that have not heard of it. I love it because it is so very straight.

http://tatmantats.wordpress.com/lock-stitch-chain/

[carolivy]

VERY interesting! Never seen a pattern calling for this before, but after seeing Tatman's tutorial, the way I worked it out with the Needle is this way...
Do the first half of the DS, pull it off the back of the Needle, do a Lock Stitch, then do another First Half of a DS right next to that...keep repeating until you have the length required. It works out quite easy and is pretty cool looking!

[ashicka]

Yep, thats what I came up with too carolivy.. plus some realy nifty zeebra striped stitches. (black and white thread so I could see what I was doing)
One very cool thing I came out with is using a knitting cast on method to make the stitches. Basically you use two threads, and do a long tail cast on except that after every stitch you flip thread a under thread b, cast on one, flip b under a cast one, flip cast flip cast. Its a little bit messy at first, but once I got the tension right it looks pretty cool. The other is sort of a double J chain which I am definately going to be using for my next piece... and that is super super easy to do.

[Sheryl]

thanks to everyone for your replies on this! i blogged a bit (http://www.crunchybanana.com/2010/01/back-on-lockstitch-chain-gang.html) about the lockstitch today, i love the look of the chain it creates!

[Judy]

As I understand it, the purpose of the lock stitch is to interrupt the core thread so that you could theoretically have different core tension on the two sides of the lock stitch. I thought that the usual shoelace tie at the end of a chain or ring did the same thing. So, a lock stitch isn't used as much by needle tatters. However, if we follow Mogs advice, above, the core thread on the needle will be interrupted by being passed through the picot directly and then 'tied' by putting the needle through the loop. This is a separate question from other design considerations -- stripes, cool looks, etc. Depends on what effect you want at that point. I think we can keep experimenting and maybe show what each experiment yields.

[Jaili]

AWESOME!!! Thank you. I have been trying to figure this out for a while your answer has been the clearest. Thank you!!

[Judith Connors]

The a on b, b on a, method would work. It's a little like macrame. You wouldn't need any needles. I like the texture of the lock stitch chain, but it is a little thinner than a normal chain. Two colours would give a barber-pole effect.