Saturday 10 May 2014

Tatting Pattern : Wreath Ornament

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An original pattern

Looking for small motif for decoration/jewelry?
Dislike blocking & stiffening ?
Tired of the same old double stitch ?
Looking for texture, variation, & 3-dimension?

As mentioned in my previous post , we, at InTattters, are in the midst of learning & experimenting with the padded double stitch. (pds). I had tackled chains in the previous trials. This time I went for rings. My pds ring trials did not start with this particular motif (I made use of pds in concentric rings). That motif, despite the neat rings, lies incomplete – I need more time & thought to continue with the design. However, I was happy to have come up with And complete this small motif all in one evening. Read on for the pattern .

UPDATE :  
This pattern has been tweaked and reworked with beads 
Thorny Wreath Ornament  pdf link


WREATH  ORNAMENT / ACCESSORY



This is a 2-round tiny motif where the 1st round is made of split rings but the 2nd round is freeform, interweaving a chain through the circular motif. The freeform weaving lends a 3D form to the flat wreath. It is a beginner’s way to get around the slightly more complex 3D tatting ;-)

It can be used as a tree ornament, a decoration/adornment for gifts, sewn on to a headband, or be used as a pendant, a brooch, or earrings … embellishments can be added as required.


Materials used :
Anchor Mercerized Crochet Cotton Size 20. Series 4054.
Red W/Black – 1206
Lemon Yellow – 0293
Green – 0229
Khaki Brown - 0359

Techniques applied ( 2-Shuttle Tatting ) :
pds – padded double stitch.
Note : The number within brackets after pds denotes the number of wraps to pad each half of the stitch. eg. pds(3) means 3 wraps in each half st of ds; pds(2,3) means 2 wraps in 1st half st & 3 wraps in 2nd half st of the ds.
SR – Split Ring
ds – double stitch
Folded Chain
Folded Ring
Josephine Chain
Picots : vsp – very small picot ; sp – small picot ; lp – long picot
Lock Chain (optional)

Size :
Round 1 – 4 cm diameter
Round 2 – 4 ½ cms diameter

So this is just under 2 inches ! And due to padded ds, it is also fairly stiff !
One can choose any color. I chose these in order to convey a semi-realistic feel to an otherwise abstract wreath-like form. And of course, it does lend itself to a festive Christmas look if one wants to use it as a tree ornament or for decorations.

Round 1 :
Shuttle 1 – red
Shuttle 2 – yellow
All rings are started with the red thread/shuttle.

SR1 : (red) 2ds, 6pds(2), sp, 4pds(3) / (yellow) vsp, [1ds, p]x2 , [1pds(2), p]x3, 1ds, p, 1ds. Cl.

Note : (i) sp in red half does not have to be in same position (refer to pic below). I have shifted its position in subsequent rings. The reason is that when I join the vine in 2nd round, it will join free-form in different places going asymmetrically around.
(ii) vsp in yellow is Only for the 1st SR. This is the tiny picot where the last SR will join to the 1st one.

Make 7 more SRs & join back to the 1st SR to form a circle of 8 SRs.

TIP : If one wants to make a flower, make only 6 rings & join. It creates a beautiful flower motif with a flurry yellow in centre & red petals around.

Round 2 :
Shuttle 1 – green
Shuttle 2 – brown
This round can be started with a chain (as I did) or with a leaf.

Since this is a free-form vine, I did not jot down the specific stitch-count. I just eye-balled it, choosing stitches & elements as I went along. This is the free-form round that makes it truly Unique – no 2 wreaths will be the exact same ! One can add more leaves, reduce them, or eliminate them altogether. One can change the flow & twist of the chain (vine) as desired – wind it more closely around the rings or widen the interweaving. Play around !


                 

















Here is the general flow of the pattern …

Vine To make the vine (brown) I used segments of Folded Chain as well as Josephine Chain, each made of variable stitches ranging from ds, pds(2), pds (2,3), pds (3,2) & pds (3) … interspersed with long picots which were later cut & tied to create the thorny effect.
In order to fold the chains periodically, 2 half stitches preceded or succeeded by a vsp was used.

Leaves Leaves are Folded Rings also with variable sts – ds, pds(2), & pds(3) including a few variable pds (1,2), (2,3), (3,2), etc. and 1 small picot at the tip. I started & ended all the leafs with at least 1 ds.
Again, each leaf was folded twice – once on each side.
For folding the ring, on either side of the leaf, 2 half stitches preceded or succeeded by a vsp was used.

As one tats the vine, keep joining it to the small picot on the red edge outside, & to any of the yellow picots on the inside. In order to weave the vine over & under the rings, I had to insert my shuttles through the center of Round 1.
Hence, it is important that the central negative space be large enough for normal-sized shuttles to pass through. However, if one has Irish or narrow shuttles, Round 1 can  be made more compact.

Remember to cut the long picots in the vine, & tie the 2 ends together. I did not wait till the end, however, since the long loops were interfering with tatting. Hence, after every couple of picots, I snipped & tied. You can adjust the length of the cut threads later.

To End :
At end, tie the 2 ends of the chain together or continue with Lock Chain to create a cord to tie or hang the ornament or to attach it to any jewelry.

That’s it. Hope you are inspired to make your own wreaths & would love it if you shared your projects. If any part of the pattern is unclear, please feel free to ask & I will try to explain further. I hope to convert the pattern into a pdf file which I will upload to the Free Patterns page in near future.


Happy Tatting


Motif #1 for 25 Motif Challenge

2 comments:

  1. I have never seen anything like this before muskaan! I love it ! This technique seems to have endless possibilities. Thank you for the explanations.

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you liked it :-)
      This simple technique adds texture, bulk & stiffness to an otherwise normal double stitch tatting.
      For even more possibilities, check out my previous post where I used the pds in chains in multiple combos.
      Thanks for stopping by :-)

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