Josephine knots

[Kersti]

I've noticed that those who practice a lot seem to be able to produce long chains of josephine knots zig zagging with amazing evenness. Mine look like a dog's breakfast, not even at all. What's the secret??

[Lynn]

Here's what PattyD posted about this in her thread, Pretty Little Flower in the Show and Tell forum.


Here's my approach to spiral chains (Josephine stems)

1. I work the second half stitches in direct tatting ( just like the split side of a split ring). When making the second half stitches, it's harder to keep the twist even when working off the ball.
2. Work 5 second half stitches and then drop the shuttle over the core thread in the direction that the spiral is twisting. With the second half of a DS, the direction is over the core thread from front to back.

I was taught to "follow the twist". Patty explains what this means very well.

[PattyD]

Hi Kersti,

I have about 12 minutes of needle tatting, but thinking about this .....

Stitches are direct tatted in needle tatting, therefore the issue is to find a way of twisting the work while in progress. The only thing I can think of is to twist the needle opposite to the twist of the spiral after every few twists (I use 5, but your mileage may vary). The twist should be a complete rotation. The twist will take the working thread all the way around the needle (which is what it wants to do). All this is in aid of making the stitches where they will stay as you make them. Trying to adjust twists after making them does not improve them.

[ashicka]

my little trick is to start with a full ds, and the work only the first half and snap it hard against the needle so that it pulls tight, and always pulling away from me. I keep it in a straight line while tatting on, and dont let it spiral until I'm pulling my core thread through. I also let the ball spin, (I keep em in baggies to make that easier) after every 100 stitches or so. When Im done I pull it all through and make it as perfect as I can and then lock it. This way seems to work for me, and I can do three or four needles worth of J chains without them getting too twisty or uneven. Seems to me like most of the problems I had to start with are all related to tension, so now I end up doing my stitches very tight but they come out great.

[carolivy]

If you want a really great bookmark to practice the Josiphine Knot Chain with, you should try Ben's Bad Boy Bookmarf found on this site: http://www.bentats.nl/

[Lynn]

Sorry, I didn't see this was in Needle Tatting when I posted. Patty's instructions are for shuttle. But it sounds like following the twist is still what you want to do. Do let know how you manage, Kersti.

[BlueDode]

Sometimes I make the josephines with the first half of the double stitch for half the hitches and then the second half of the double stitch for the second half of the hitches, leaving a tiny picot (handy for blocking possibly, and hard to avoid anyway) in the middle. Result is more like a Josephine teardrop than a Josephine picot/ring, but I like the look.
Evenness of stitches in Josephines or even regular tatted double stitches is influenced by the thread in use: some crochet cottons make rough looking tatting because the fiber isn't very smooth. Depending on the nature of the thread I'm using, sometimes I make looser hitches and sometimes tighter ones -- this changes the appearance noticeably -- and see what I like, and go from there.
Another thought: try a smaller needle if you can make it work, or possibly a larger one (increases the size of the hitches).

[TotusMel]

I learned how to do these way before I ever tatted. i used to do hair wraps using the knot I learned in macrame. The trick was to bring the thread around in the direction of the turn at even intervals, I always use tens. That's all I so with my josephine chains, bring the thread around the needle every ten knots, I use the first half of the ds as well, again, that's how you do it in macrame.