Tatting
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Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable
lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...
from a series of
knot A knot is an intentional complication in Rope, cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including List of hitch knots, hitches, List of bend knots, bends, List of loop knots, loop knots, ...
s and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, accessories such as earrings, necklaces, waist beads, and other decorative pieces. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of cow hitch or half-hitch knots, called double stitches, over a core thread. Contemporary tatting methods arose in the 19th century, influenced by the numerous publications of Mlle Eléonore Riego de la Branchardière who developed the concepts and terms for picots and chains. Gaps can be left between the stitches to form picots, which are used for practical construction as well as decorative effect. In German, tatting is usually known by the Italian-derived word ''Occhi'' or as ''Schiffchenarbeit'', which means "work of the little boat", referring to the boat-shaped shuttle; in
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, tatting is called ''chiacchierino'', which means "chatty".


Technique and materials


Shuttle tatting

Tatting with a shuttle is the earliest method of creating tatted lace. A tatting ''shuttle'' facilitates tatting by holding a length of wound thread and guiding it through loops to make the requisite knots. Historically, it was a metal or ivory pointed-oval shape less than long, but shuttles come in a variety of shapes and materials. Shuttles often have a point or hook on one end to aid in the construction of the lace. Antique shuttles and unique shuttles have become sought after by collectors — even those who do not tat. To make the lace, the tatter wraps the thread around one hand and manipulates the shuttle with the other hand. No tools other than the thread, the hands and the shuttle are used, though a
crochet Crochet (; ) is a process of creating textiles by using a crochet hook to interlock loops of yarn, thread (yarn), thread, or strands of other materials. The name is derived from the French term ''crochet'', which means 'hook'. Hooks can be made ...
hook may be necessary if the shuttle does not have a point or hook.


Needle tatting

Traditional shuttle tatting may be simulated using a tatting needle or doll needle instead of a shuttle. There are two basic techniques for needle tatting. With the more widely disseminated technique, a double thread passes through the stitches. The result is similar to shuttle tatting but is slightly thicker and looser. The second technique more closely approximates shuttle tatting because a single thread passes through the stitches. The earliest evidence for needle tatting dates from April 1917, in an article by M.E. Rozella, published in '' The Modern Priscilla.'' A tatting needle is a long, blunt needle that does not change thickness at the eye of the needle. The needle used must match the thickness of the thread chosen for the project. Rather than winding the shuttle, the needle is threaded with a length of thread. To work with a second color, a second needle is used. Although needle tatting looks similar to shuttle tatting, it differs in structure and is slightly thicker and looser because both the needle and the thread must pass through the stitches. However, it may be seen that the Victorian tatting pin would function as a tatting needle. As well, Florence Hartley refers in ''The Ladies' Hand Book of Fancy and Ornamental Work'' (1859) to the use of the tatting needle, so it must have originated prior to the mid-1800s. In the late 20th century, tatting needles became commercially available in a variety of sizes, from fingering yarn down to size 80 tatting thread. Few patterns are written specifically for needle tatting; some shuttle tatting patterns may be used without modification.


Cro-tatting

Cro-tatting combines needle tatting with crochet. The cro-tatting tool is a tatting needle with a
crochet hook A crochet hook (or crochet needle) is an implement used to make loops in thread or yarn and to interlock them into crochet stitches. It is a round shaft pointed on one end, with a lateral groove behind it. The point eases the insertion of the hoo ...
at the end. One can also cro-tat with a bullion crochet hook or a very straight crochet hook. In the 19th century, "crochet tatting" patterns were published which simply called for a crochet hook. One of the earliest patterns is for a crocheted
afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...
with tatted rings forming a raised design. Patterns are available in English and are equally divided between yarn and thread. In its most basic form, the rings are tatted with a length of plain thread between them, as in single-shuttle tatting. In modern patterns, beginning in the early 20th century, the rings are tatted and the arches or chains are crocheted. Many people consider cro-tatting more difficult than crochet or needle tatting. Some tatting instructors recommend using a tatting needle and a crochet hook to work cro-tatting patterns. Stitches of cro-tatting (and needle tatting before a ring is closed) unravel easily, unlike tatting made with a shuttle. A form of tatting called Takashima Tatting, invented by Toshiko Takashima, exists in Japan. Takashima Tatting uses a custom needle with a hook on one end. It is not that widespread however (in Japan the primary form of tatting is shuttle tatting, and needle tatting is virtually unknown.).


Materials

Older designs, especially through the early 1900s, tend to use fine white or ivory thread (50 to 100 widths to the inch) and intricate designs. Often they were constructed of small pieces 10 cm or less in diameter, which were then tied to each other to form a larger piece — a
shawl A shawl (from ''shāl'') is a simple item of clothing, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular piece of Textile, cloth, but can also be Square (geometry), square or tr ...
, veil or umbrella, for example. This thread was either made of silk or a silk blend, to allow for improper stitches to be easily removed. The mercerization process strengthened cotton threads and spread their use in tatting. Newer designs from the 1920s and onward often use thicker thread in one or more colors, as well as newer joining methods, to reduce the number of thread ends to be hidden. The best thread for tatting is a "hard" thread that does not untwist readily. Cordonnet thread is a common tatting thread; Perl cotton is an example of a beautiful cord that is nonetheless a bit loose for tatting purposes. Some tatting designs incorporate
ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mate ...
s and
bead A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under 1 ...
s.


Patterns

Older patterns use a longhand notation to describe the stitches needed, while newer patterns tend to make extensive use of abbreviations such as "ds" to mean "double stitch", and an almost mathematical-looking notation. The following examples describe the same small piece of tatting (the first ring in the ''Hen and Chicks'' pattern) :Ring five ds, three picots separated by five ds, five ds, close, turn, space :R 5ds, 3 p sep by 5ds, 5ds, cl, turn, sp :R 5-5-5-5 cl rw sp Some tatters prefer a visual pattern where the design is drawn schematically with annotations indicating the number of double stitches and order of construction. This can either be used on its own or alongside a written pattern. Books with tatting patterns are widely available. Anne Orr, a notable needlework editor, quilt designer, and textile artist, was recognized for the quality of her work and her work has been reprinted for contemporary tatters. Modern tatting patterns can be produced with diagrams, and
Inkscape Inkscape is a vector graphics editor. It is used for both artistic and technical illustrations such as cartoons, clip art, logos, typography, diagrams, and flowcharts. It uses vector graphics to allow for sharp printouts and renderings at ...
software permits useful diagram structures. Modern tatting pattern books sometimes include jewelry items that can be adorned with beads.


History

Tatting may have developed from
netting In law, set-off or netting is a legal technique applied between persons or businesses with mutual rights and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities, replacing gross positions with net positions. It permits the rights to be used to discharg ...
and decorative ropework as
sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...
s and
fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...
would put together motifs for girlfriends and wives at home. Decorative ropework employed on ships includes techniques (esp. coxcombing) that show striking similarity with tatting. A good description of this can be found in ''Knots, Splices and Fancywork''. Some believe tatting originated over 200 years ago, often citing shuttles seen in 18th-century paintings of women such as
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her ...
, Princess Marie Adélaïde of France, and Anne, Countess of Albemarle. A close inspection of those paintings, however, shows that the shuttles in question are too large to be tatting shuttles, and that they are actually knotting shuttles. There is no documentation of or examples of tatted lace that dates prior to 1800. All available evidence shows that tatting originated in the early 19th century. However, recent research by Cary Karp demonstrates some potential connections between the two fiber arts. According to Karp, "Knotting and tatting did appear sequentially in the historical record and can reasonably be regarded separately...the demarcation between the structures that characterise knotting, and the central elements of tatting, was not as clear cut as is often maintained." Tatting has been used in occupational therapy to keep convalescent patients' hands and minds active during recovery, as documented, for example, in Betty MacDonald's ''The Plague & I''. Workshops and competitions in tatting continue to be available from lace guilds and organizations.


Gallery

File:Anillos y arcos. Frivolité.jpg, Anillos y arcos. Frivolité File:Bizuteria frywolitkowa.JPG, Bizuteria frywolitkowa File:Border (ST397) - Tatting - MoMu Antwerp.jpg, Border (ST397) MoMu Antwerp File:Border (ST561) - Tatting - MoMu Antwerp.jpg, Border (ST561) MoMu Antwerp File:Frywolitki koroneczka.jpg, Frywolitki koroneczka File:Naszyjnik frywolitkowy.jpg, Naszyjnik frywolitkowy File:Occhi by Iota.JPG, Occhi by Iota File:Swiss Frivolité a.JPG, Swiss Frivolité a File:Jabot-PriscillaTattingBookNo2-1915.jpg, Jabot-Priscilla Tatting Book No2, 1915


Notes


External links


Tatting Bibliography
Bibliography of tatting patterns published in craft magazines * by Anne Orr {{Decorative arts Lace Needlework Textile arts