My New Tatting Venture

I am goin on a trip soon and will be flying, so I can't take my Needles with me on the flight, so I am learning how to Shuttle Tat.  I tried to do this YEARS ago and just could NOT wrap my head (or my hands) around this!  Well, thanks to Needle Tatting and actually knowing what the knots are supposed to look like and thanks to the wonderful ladies over at InTatters, I have taken up Shuttle Tatting!

Well, this is my absolute Very First piece of Shuttle Tatting!

Got the Ring and Chain figured out, so now it is time to actually MAKE something, as I never could understand the practice of practicing without actually making something.  This is the Tatted Christmas Tree from BeStitched.  I chose this pattern because I got to practice several things.  I got to practice my Rings, Bare Threads and my Chains.  I also got to practice the Magic Thread Trick for hiding ends.  Very cool trick, let me tell you!

The only problem I am having with the Shuttle Tatting is that I am double jointed and my fingers lock up at the worst moments.  One of those "moments" being when I am trying to hold the thread snug when I make picots, so I decided to make myself a Tatting Chatelaine, also thanks to xstitchntat from InTatters for the wonderful idea in the first place!  I went to a second hand store and bought a crochet hook (the only one they had...a size 8) and had my brother cut the hook off just as it starts flaring into the handle.  I then took a very small lenght of thin dowel and drilled a small hole in it and put Super Glue in the hole, then the hook.  Let it dry an hour or so and Voila!  Mini Hook!  I drilled a hole in the end so I can hang in on my Chatelaine.  The picot guages I made from the plastic from an empty gum box.  You've all seen my Striver before. ;-)

I tatted a cord for my Chatelaine that is about 26" long and it works a DREAM!  I am working on a bookmark right now and not having any problems at all with my fingers locking and I'm lovin' it!

Hope This Helps Clarify any Problems with Adding Threads

Hey, I hope these pictures clarify any confusion there was with my last post about Adding New Threads.  Sorry if I caused anyone any confusion!  Thanks for letting me know.  I'm always more than happy to help out in any way I can!

Hope these larger pictures show better that I am still working off the ball and normally, I would have had enough Core Thread to work with, but it has happened that I have needed to add thread in both the Core and the Knot thread positions.  Hope this helps.

My Way of Adding a New Thread in Needle Tatting

Well, I finally got around to taking photographs of my technique for adding a new thread when needle tatting.  Nothing I hate worse than knots when you don't actually need them!  I hope this helps someone esle out there who hates extra knots and is struggling with how to add new thread.

I've used very large thread here so it photographs better, but I've used this method with thread as fine as sewing thread (size 120)

Let me know if this works for you and how you like it. ;-)