Saturday, February 4, 2017

From needle to shuttle

I had been tatting using a needle for two and a half years and more often than not I ran into the problem of finding the right needles for my thread or even finding the right thread for my needles. It was getting very frustrating.

My little journey into tatting land began from watching people create their own cosplay clothing and especially one of the ladies make her own embroidery. I was fascinated. So, I decided to try and learn hand embroidery.

I practiced on an old bed spread and made quite a few cute flowers. I even have a favourite stitch that looks like a braid.

But then I figured I needed to make my lace first and then sew it onto the garments, to be sure I have the right measurements and not make any mistakes. I had a needle and thread, so off I went on the internet to research the options...

I found out about tatted lace, which looked very pretty and it could also be made with a needle. I learned off Youtube, using the tutorials made by Totusmel. She makes quite lovely jewellery, you can see her blog here.

I learned and explored and made quite a few pieces of jewellery and some snowflakes which I was going to sell, but most of them ended up being given as gifts in the end, even to strangers. Spreading the lace love, hehe.

I then saw people arguing about needle tatting versus shuttle tatting and I kept my ground, based on a few people who said they can follow any patterns and techniques using a needle as well.

But I became more and more upset at how bulky my lace was and how restrictive the choice of needles and threads (no I have not ordered off the internet, I don't have quite that much money to spend on a hobby). When I wanted to make overlapping rings, I became very frustrated at not being able to make the join properly having all my thread on the needle.

And so, I put my foot down and created two cardboard shuttles and proceeded to learn shuttle tatting from Youtube videos as well. I learned from Tatted Treasures. She has not been updating lately, but the videos are good for a newbie.

I keep learning a lot from everyone who was kind enough to share their own experiences and painstakingly learned lessons.

Shuttle tatted on the left - needle tatted on the right. Pattern by Tatting Box


I hope at some point I can become good enough at this to also inspire others.

8 comments:

  1. Lovely tatting !!! Both look inspiring :-) Hope you spend lots of happy hours making lace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Muskaan! I certainly am. And thank you for all the great tips on your blog :)

      Delete
  2. Yes the bulky is fine for some things but delicate and crisp lace looks wonderful made with shuttle you are talented to pick up shuttle tatting so quickly. 🌹💟🌹

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! But I think the credit goes to my good teachers.

      Delete
  3. Replies
    1. Thank you, I like the pattern and it is fun to tat.

      Delete
  4. Frumoasa trecerea de la ac la naveta! Finetea dantelei cu naveta este de departe motivul pentru care am trecut si eu la naveta. La noi acele erau extrem de greu de gasit iat substitutele erau, hmm ... substitute.
    Spor la treaba!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Multumesc! Am facut mai multe modele in cele doua stiluri si arata mult mai elegante cele cu naveta. Tocmai imi cumparasem mai multe seturi de ace de diferite marimi, cand m-am hotarat sa trec la naveta :) Dar sunt bune pentru ascuns capetele de ata.

      Delete

Any feedback or questions are welcome.