What did I do wrong

[Leeanne]

Nothing, I have only successfully taught 2 people. Tatting requires a type of patience that not everybody has.

[Patsy]

I did needle tatting for a couple of years but I wanted to learn shuttle tatting. I took a class given by a very nice lady who did basic shuttle tatting. I tried and tried during the class to get my stitch to flip but did not have any luck. I felt so bad coming home that evening. After I got home I had the house to myself and I sat down an repeated in my mind over and over the steps to making a double stitch. I sat with my shuttle, trying over and over, and it was not very long and the stitches started to flip. By the next class (there were 4 in all) I had moved from the bottom of the class to the top. Our homework was to tat a yard of simple lace and I was the only one who not only had the yard of lace, but had joined my rings. I am not the greatest tatter but I enjoy it so much and I have learned to do more than my instructor knew just as she could do more than her teacher could. Anything I know now is built on what she taught me. Do not give up, if they really want to they will keep going with what you taught, and they will learn. Since then I have taught my daughters and niece and I try to help anyone who wants to learn. It is a skill worth giving! DO NOT GIVE UP!

[picotsnkeys]

I had a breakthrough with a student last night. She too struggled to learn. She is very motivated though, and is really enjoying the class time. In her feedback form, she commented on how I didn't give up on her, suggested several different techniques, used visual, verbal, and kinetic learning tools, and just generally kept a calm, encouraging tone to the class. I'll admit, I have the luxury of her being the only student in the class, but she is making such steady progress.

What have I learned?

How to tat a different way than the slip and slide method I typically use.
How to keep my mouth shut as the student tries to execute what I've just asked them to do.
How to celebrate the small victories (using a noisemaker left over from New Year's Eve).
How to pace the new concepts for the verbal learner.

I'm sure when we meet again in 3 weeks (due to travel and conflicts with family commitments), she will have practised and conquered more of the skills needed to tat with her shuttle and thread.

I look forward to reading more here and learning more with my students.
Melanie

[Holly Ann]

Keep the people's phone number and contact the people who didn't get it again. I "learned" tatting over 20 years ago in a class of about 40 ladies for about 2 hours. Only 2-3 of us got the flip. But the teacher was spending so much time with those who didn't get it, that all I learned was how to do a ring. For years, on and off, I would get my tatting out and still couldn't get any where (time before computers). I always wanted to get further but didn't know who to contact. Extremely frustrating. It was not until last year that I saw a sign in a thread/material shop here that was talking about a lace guild that I tried to tat once again. Called the lady up, and she asked if I ever needle tatted. I told her I never heard of it. Well... to make a long story short...once I got my hands on the needles..30 minutes later I was working on my first medallion. Keep in touch with the ladies and maybe try needles.

[freetime]

This is the way I learned to tat (Reverse Riego Method). My daughter tried to teach herself with no success. She came over and we both did it step by step (I showed here and then she repeated). One thing is watch for is after your shuttle goes over/under the core thread, watch for the figure 8 of the thread. Once she got that trick (the figure 8), she caught on really quick!

[Ireneho]

It took me awhile to learn too. I didn't grasp it on the first try like some ppl have done. I wasted many balls of thread, watched and re-watched all the youtube tutorials and my Learn to Tat dvd. Just when I thought I'd sell it all off on ebay or worse, throw it all into the bin, it finally clicked!! So yea, be patient, keep trying and never give up!

For me, and for any crafts that i do, i prefer watching somebody else first. That way I learn where the hands go, what the fingers do and how they work together. I just study the vids for awhile, then as i try one, slowly build confidence as i go along to repeat the next row or ring or chain etc. Don't give up on that person, maybe they need more time, absorb the new info and technique. Try to suggest other ways to learn.

[AnneB]

On teaching
In teaching no day is the same. I once had a group of 15 students and all got the flip after a couple of hours. Later I had a group of 9 and only one got it. I believe the reason for the sucess of the first group was that all were professional needleworkers, working in needlework/handcraft shops and not my skills of teaching LOL

You have received lots of good tips already, I'll just give some coments on how I teach (which is not the same way as when I gave tatting lessons the first time).

I start by demonstrating using thick cord (preferably 5mm satin cord) of two contrasting colours, and then start them off doing chains using two colours in thick thread (no thinner than size 10). Using two colours makes it easier to spot an unflipped stitch. I don't teach slip-slide or (reversed) Riego. I tell them that the shuttle needs to go under (the ball trhead) back over (the ball thread) and through the loop made by the shuttle thread, flip and thighten (first stitch), then over, under, through, flip and tighten (second stitch). I tell them to repeat this over-under... until it becomes a mantra. I also have a leaflet showing the stitches using the words under-over-through and over-under-through to help them remember which is first and second. I do not bother about the movement of the shuttle, the first goal is to get the stitches done, efficient movements and speed must come later (it took me some teaching to arrive at this).

After doing the demonstration alone first with the students observing, we do it together. Then the students work on the stitches while I walk among them helping where it is needed. When a student manages the flip with no problem (20 dst or so, judging the length of right colour stitches) I introduse them to the picots. When a student have made 3 picots with 4 dst between, I show them how to make a 4-4-4-4 ring, and when the ring is done they make a short chain and a new ring to learn how to make a join.

By the end of a class I might have one who can tat rings and chains and join picots, one more who handle the ring, several who sort of handle the flip and a couple who did not manage the flip. And often one elderly lady who really wantet to learn to tat but who discovered her fingers would not hold the shuttle.

Getting to the flip might be quite a fight for some. I often need to make the students (when wlking around after the demonstration) observe the movements of my left hand (making slow movements) as I relax the ballthread to make the flip, and some times put my hand around the finger of the left hand forcing the tatter to reduce the tension of the ball thread before the flip. I might also make them test the (lack of) strength I'm using holding the thread by my left hand and holding the shuttle by my right hand.

Giving follow up lessons or give them your e-mail or phone number for follow up, will help improving the number who manage the flip.

Finally, giving tatting lessons is just as tatting - you will get better by practice!

Reversed Riego
I'm happy to learn that someone else have a problem with the Reversed part of Reversed Riego, I also have a problem seeing what is so specieal by Jan Stawasz method. The reversed order of the stitches is necessary if you want a front side to your tatting and I did that when I learned how to tat chains as I thought there had to be a front and back side of tatting, just as in knitting and crocheting. The other part is just how you move the shuttle to make the stitches.

The Riego movements are under-over-through and over-(under)-through the last "under" is just harder to spot as the shuttle thread is at the other side of the ball thread.

Book with 7 methods of making the stitches
What is the title of this book, please? Knowing several ways of making the stitches will help finding the right movements for the different students.