clovers still poor

[Anke]

Is this the posting shuttle that I read about in places?
Melanie

Yes, that's the same thing with another name.

[Antiquarian]

I have to point out that not all of your joining picots are not meant to be totally hidden all the time. I have a number of patterns that when I made itty bitty joining picots the motif didn't turn out. Everything was too close and it cupped. In fact a number of ladies in my local guild were talking about this a couple months ago. It's the "in" thing now a days to make these minute joining picots, however, that isn't always the best choice. Were were doing some tatting around buttons and if you didn't make your joining picots 1/8 inch it wouldn't lay flat around the cerconforance of the button.

As one wise sensei once said, "Practice makes permanent" so YES practice this, but also practice motifs where the picot is larger and part of the design so your muscle memory doesn't end up always making the picot minute.

If you really are worried about looks and closeness you may want to try a lark's head picot join. http://www.paradisetreasures.com/lhpj.html Honestly this is the best visual I've found for explaining it.

[Catriona]

I'm not sure if this will make sense but the trick I learned to get rid of the bare thread between rings is as follows:

Tat first ring and close making sure it closed tight so it doesn't open up under tension.

Lay the ring on you index finger and wrap the shuttle thread round your hand to start the second ring, pinch the thread making sure it overlaps the last few double stitches of the previous ring (it doesn't have to be precise as long as it overlaps)


Make the first half of the first double stitch and pull down till it sits on top of the last double stitch of the previous ring and pinch to make sure it doesn't move.


Make the second half and pull up to the previous half carefully to make sure the first half doesn't move out of position.


Now finish the ring as normal. You will find as you tat that the tension will loosen enough for the first ds to move off the previous ring and sit neatly next to it without any bare thread.


Repeat this for the third ring and you should have a nice neat clover when you are done.



I use this technique for every element I make that doesn't have bare thread in the pattern and it works very well for me.


Incidentally, you can see in the photos the size I make the joining picots to keep the work close together.

I hope this helps.

[janet6567]

I love your technique, Catriona and will try it the next time I am doing a "clover". . .your work is so lovely!

[Deb13b]

Thanks you guys, you are a mine of information ! The Virgo side of me is a bit OCD, I'm hypercritical of anything I do ( not just tatting ). I sometimes take days to pluck up the courage to ask for help on here, and when I finally do, you're all so helpful. I absolutely love this forum. Right, I'm off to try these ideas !

[susiearnholt]

If you are working in a single color, it will sometimes help a gap to make a single double stitch chain before the next ring. I usually do something like Catriona shows, though.

[BlueDode]

Check out this link from another InTatters thread, titled "unknown old tatting" I think:
http://www.georgiaseitz.com/public/n...henspitzen.pdf
...a few pages in, you will recognise a photo of something that looks like a ball thread join to a thread from the base of a ring to a thread.
This was news to me, and I thought of this thread: I don't know that it directly applies, but I'm tempted to play with this idea sometime when I need to make the bases of rings snug up close.

[PattyD]

When chains enclose a space and the caps point into the space, the appropriate move is to join the chain working thread to the space between the core and the working thread right where the ring and chain meet, just like joining to a picot. This is because the working thread on the chain is the thread that is closest to the place where the join will be. The core thread is on the other side of the chain, away from the position of the join site.

Also when finishing a round where a chain meets a ring, clip the chain working thread with a generous length (for sewing in) and take the working thread through the space where the ring and a chain meet from front to back. Tie on the backside with the core thread and sew in ends.

The point between a ring and a chain is a very safe place to join to, assuming that core and working threads are continuous at that point.

[Anke]

Check out this link from another InTatters thread, titled "unknown old tatting" I think:
http://www.georgiaseitz.com/public/n...henspitzen.pdf
...a few pages in, you will recognise a photo of something that looks like a ball thread join to a thread from the base of a ring to a thread.
This was news to me, and I thought of this thread: I don't know that it directly applies, but I'm tempted to play with this idea sometime when I need to make the bases of rings snug up close.

Which page and picture do you mean?

[Lynn]

Hey, Deb! How are you doing with your clovers now? Any progress? Is there anything else we can do to help out? Please update us.