How is this made. Is it crochet?

[Christina Scheffer]

In some auctions at "Tradera" (Sweden's answer to Ebay) I often see old tatted doiles like this:

http://www.tradera.com/Valgjord-duk-i-frivoliteter-auktion_98454758

I've never seen a pattern for something with these thick chains and I'm wondering how they are made. Are the chains covered with crochet or is this some old (and forgotten it seems like) tecnique?

Can anyone of you help me out?

[Tarie]

I recently used a doily pattern that called for crochet along a row of picots. I looked at your picture and that is pretty much exactly what it looked like.

[CindyK]

I have an old piece that looks like it was made the same way. You can see the comments in one of my photo albums here: http://www.intatters.com/album.php?albumid=105 I was sure it was tatted until I looked at it closer. I like the look - seems very unique!

Edited to add: Consensus on my doily was that it was crocheted to look like tatting!

[Sonja]

I have one too. It's a combinati0n of tatting and crochet, made in China or something like that. I saw it in Cochem or Trier (Germany) for 3 euro. I bought mine in a second-handshop for 50 cents. It looks new. Price is crazy. I don't want to make it for that price. But it is a nice pattern

[Susan B T]

One term used is Cro-tat... the 'Hook" is like a crochet hook but it is not tapered. this way the stitches are the same, like in needle tatting...

There are new ones coming out of China.. and sometimes they will be labeled as "antique" by the unknowing, and priced that way.

[Imoshen]

In the book "A new Twist on Tatting" by Catherine Austin, you can find this pattern. It is a combination of tatting with crochet joining the picots as a row and encircling the center motif like in the photograph. I don't have the book anymore but I remember seeing the pattern and thinking... Wow, that's cool, I'll have to try it someday.

[BlueDode]

Christina Scheffer:

The book Imoshen mentions, A New Twist on Tatting, is available from our library I think: I need to go to the library tomorrow and will see if I can check it out if it is there and if I can find this pattern.

If I have my history correct, back in the day when tatting was just rings and thread spaces (one shuttle work), The thread spaces were often crocheted over: also, crochet could be used around the edge of fabric, then tatting could be attached to the crochet. That is not what this work is, as near as I can tell.

This technique is explained in "Koronka frywolitkowa" by Hana Horakova and probably other places: this book is written in Polish: I can't read it, but I can follow the diagrams and reference the pictures -- the example of this work is on p.59, in a rosette. In the example, chains of 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-.... (small picots separated by 1 doubble stitch), are made in one round, and in the next round, slip stitches are crocheted in each of picots.

I can see some advantage to this in patterns made up of multiple tatted motifs: one could slip stitch crochet around the endges of the tatting and join with slip stitch crochet (it is lot's easier to take out when making joins if there are mistakes in the process, I would think). It also makes a firmer edge.

I'll let you know if I find the pattern, and provide details about the book.

[madhur]

BlueDode,
You are so well informed in this field. Even I used to make crochet chain to the tatted edges in my early days of tatting for the purpose of fastening them to the fabric for the distanced picots until I thought of the invisible thread trick as you see in the insertions in most of my works. I wasn't very happy with the idea of the crochet chains because the ultimate effect of the tatting, to my eyes, wasn't as beautiful as it was prior to the croctet chain. But of course cro-tat is totally different and blends beautifully in certain patterns.

[Judy]

Hi,
Here's my best guess. It looks like its made from a fuzzy thread, like fine wool, so to keep a crisper outline they eliminated all decorative picots... It is tatting. There are several ways of getting thicker chains and rings. Some of them work best with shuttle tatting. I needle tat, so the way I'd get thicker chains (also called padded tatting in some books) is to use a much thicker or double thickness in the thread in the needle. This is the thread that carries the stitches. It also looks a lot like the Japanese technique where they use a "double hook??" I've seen the pattern books and hooks for sale at Handy Hands.

[wezyus]

With bigger size of needle n thick threads its come like thats ...i hve needle tatted an edging n its luks like cro-tat

[Ridgewoman]

I've seen a crochet edging in a number of tatting books that i have; I even learned the chain stitch so I could do that, too. BUT my favorite way of doing this looks a bit different but adds stability to the piece and that's from Jane Eborall blog pattern site. So I use the Continuous Thread join for edgings at times. It's tatting and doesn't look exactly the same but it meets the need for enclosing edges for, as I said, stability. It requires adding vsp in strategic spots, but really works. Bev

[Judith Connors]

The doily you have was probably made commerically in China in #10-20 thread. I have made several articles with the effect illustrated. If you look into the medallions you will see that they are easy enough to do. The outer chain has lots of picots, a little longer than usual. When you finish tatting the medallion, do not finish off. Just take a crochet hook and crochet around the tops of the picots to produce the effect. I hope this helps.

There are several Burda patterns which use this effect.
Judith.

[Sulu]

In Priscilla 3 there is this picture of how to make a stem when you make flowers. Could be the same technique. I am not sure if it's the same the rest of you describe? But here is the picture in case it's not. :doh: :tongue:


http://www.intatters.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=177&stc=1&d=1253779696

Nvm me. I took a closer look at the piece and it does seem much more like crochet than this.

[Christina Scheffer]

Thank you all!

It does seem that this "technique" has gone out of use. I do like the effect it makes and might give it a try.

[Ridgewoman]

The doily you have was probably made commerically in China in #10-20 thread. I have made several articles with the effect illustrated. If you look into the medallions you will see that they are easy enough to do. The outer chain has lots of picots, a little longer than usual. When you finish tatting the medallion, do not finish off. Just take a crochet hook and crochet around the tops of the picots to produce the effect. I hope this helps.

There are several Burda patterns which use this effect.
Judith.

I'm always so glad to see your comments as I've found your books especially helpful and the concepts are unique. Thak you. I really do appreciate the designers. Bev