Shuttles that don't make noise

[Mags]

Hi fellow tatters!

I like to take my needlework when I go to conferences, but have resisted taking my tatting because of the clicking. I can't help thinking it might bug people while they are trying to listen to a speaker to hear the plink plink of my Clovers, which are my favorite shuttles hands-down. I have some Aero shuttles, but they are also noisy, and some of the Sew-Mates--same thing.

I have some of the metal DMC shuttles, which I guess are quiet but I don't really like using them. They are a little heavy and the hook gets on my nerves.

I was drooling a bit over the Silent Tatters from Roseground, but two of them (I need two) plus a few extra bobbins, with S&H, was nearly $80. I'm not averse to paying that much but right at the moment it might be a bit beyond me. (And has anyone used the acrylic Silent Tatters? Any comments?)

Are there any other bobbins that are not noisy?

[Catriona]

I haven't used the acrylic ones but I have two wooden ones and I like them a lot. The are quite but undoing the screw is a bit fiddly as the tool does not fit it well. Once you get the tension of the screw right it works well.

The pop-a-bobbin would also work well but they are not on sale very often and you have to be quick off the mark to get one.

[squeeky]

I believe AnneB has a pattern for some shuttles in one of her albums that are quiet. There's also the Lady Hoare style shuttle (http://www.villagespinweave.com/IBS/...id/608625.html). I've made several shuttles out of shrinky-dink and they work pretty well, but I love the pointed tip for joining so I've been trying to figure out how to make one of the shrinky-dink ones with a more useable tip - maybe a Lady Hoare with closer closed ends and maybe a bit of a point? Not long ago I was talking with someone about my Aero style shuttles all having worn out bobbins (Mercy? was that you?) and she suggested putting some tape on the bobbin teeth to tighten the shuttle. It has the added benefit of making them quieter as well (still a little bit of a click, but much more quiet than it was when the bobbin was new and had good teeth on it). I've been trying to learn to handle quieter shuttles so I don't wake DBF when I'm tatting in bed but so far only the "fixed" Aero has worked well. I have several pages of shrinky left, so I'll keep trying. Maybe something will work eventually. :) Or maybe I'll get accustomed to handling the ones I made from AnneB's pattern. The added benefit of those is you can make them narrower for working Celtic patterns.

[RandaGray]

I agree with Catriona... I have one pop-a-bobbin, & while it does have a bobbin, that part is plastic & the post is wood. No noise out of mine & believe it or not, it doesn't spin freely, no matter what! They *are* hard to get ahold of, but once you purchase one, you'll find the effort totally worth it. If you read Jane Eborall's blog regularly, she usually tells when she'll be listing them in her Etsy store, but again you *do* have to be fast!

[susiearnholt]

The Silent Tatter shuttle is a little heavier than a pop-a-bobbin, but the tension is also more adjustable. I have a green acrylic one (made MANY years ago) that is probably my favorite shuttle of all time, followed closely by the tulipwood one I own. You are lucky if your aeros still click after very many projects. If you pull a bobbin's worth of thread out of the newer ones, they are very quiet by the end...of course, they also often need hole reinforcer rings not to spin too freely. If you really prefer clovers, you can take a bit of fine sandpaper and open the tips so they won't click (but not so much that the thread pops out).

[louine]

My aero shuttles never clicked!!

[Mags]

Thanks for the responses. There are lots of good ideas here! I like the plink plink of the Clover shuttles myself. They are such lovely little pieces of perfect engineering. I just don't want to disturb others.

The shrinky-dink shuttles might be fun to try making. I have a friend who does shrinky-dink jewelry and other doo-dads; I can ask her for some tips.

I've always wanted a Lady Hoare shuttle; maybe this is a good excuse to get one.

I also thought of a fairly obvious solution--needle tatting--but a. I'm not a very good needle tatter b. partly because of a., it might require more concentration than I want to give my tatting when I'm trying to listen to a talk c. I can't find my tatting needles! They have to be in my apartment somewhere. This is what happens when I organize stuff--everything gets lost!

I think I need to put the Pop-a-Bobbins and/or Silent Tatters on my wish list, in any event.

[Denise]

Let us know how you get on - I've never tatted at a conference for that same reason, and every day on the train I'm kind of waiting for someone to sigh and tell me to stop clicking :)

[frazzletat]

If I'm tatting in public and don't want my shuttles to click, I simple slip my finger between the points just enough to release the thread or wind it back on. Doesn't take much, even a fingernail's width is enough. Takes a little practice just like everything else in tatting.

[BlueDode]

If I'm tatting in public and don't want my shuttles to click, I simple slip my finger between the points just enough to release the thread or wind it back on. Doesn't take much, even a fingernail's width is enough. Takes a little practice just like everything else in tatting.

frazzletat: I do the same thing with my Clovers when I need to tat in very quiet surroundings (like waiting in a church before a funeral service starts) -- most of the time my surroundings don't merit silence though.