Heart o' Daisies

This heart design was one of the earlier ones that I made for the 25-motif Challenge. It came about when I was thinking of ways to use up the small balance of thread left in shuttles.

It is made up of several small daisies joined up together and arranged to from a heart shape.

The chart for making this heart is given below.

The stitch count for each ring in the daisy motif is R(3-4-4-3). Make five rings for each daisy.

The chains encircling the daisies form the heart shape. Each picot in the chains are separated by two double stitches. The number in the brackets shown in the chart refer to the number of picots for the respective segment of the chains. Begin the chain by joining the thread to the joining picot between two rings of the daisy in the middle -top.




This daisies in the heart can be made in one pass with split rings. The rings shown in green in the chart are where the split rings are. To make it this way, begin with the daisy in the centre of the heart. Then make the one on top of it followed by the right or left daisy, depending on which way you work it.

Updated on Sept 4, 2008
This is the split ring version that I have just finished tatting. There are slight differences in where I made the split rings compared to that shown in the chart above because I wanted to make full use of the two colours to highlight the design.

The Relay Quartet

You may think that the motif here looks very odd. You are right. I am working on another edging and was trying out different shapes for the corner. Rather than cutting the thread each time and starting again, I made four corners at one go. You may not be able to see the edging well because I only make one repeat of the motif for each side.


Okay, let me take you through it.

I started with the one in the bottom left. There isn't really a corner in it - looks like it got chopped off.

The second one, bottom right, is more interesting. I'll call this a filled corner because the actual corner was made later. The first part is like corner #1 except for the addition of the two rings off the chains. The other part of the corner is made later by adding additional rings and chains to it.

#3, top right, is similar to the first part of corner #2, except that one of the rings in the corner is a mock ring, needed to make the third ring in the 3-rings grouping.

This quartet didn't actually make to the end because I dropped the baton after the third corner, oops .... (excuse the pun even though it is intended, LOL) .... I mean the thread ran out of both shuttles. I cheated and quickly loaded the shuttles, before the officials realised what happened, shhhhh ....

I finished off the last corner, #4 in the top left. You can see that I have run out of ideas for corner #4 and just added a ring in between the two chains.

No medals for guessing which one I finally chose, although I would have liked to be able to make it in one pass. This design is now called the Sweetheart Edging


Note : The pattern for Heart o' Daisy has been added to the Patterns Page.

Old edging with a Turn

This is a common edging pattern that I see often. A good start for learning tatting with two shuttles.

And most times the pattern only give instructions for a straight edging. Well, I have given it a turn, as you can see in the small tatted sample below.


I have designed a corner for it, my way. The instruction for my version of the corner is here.

Facing Rings Edging with a Corner Added

The pattern for this common design is often shown without the instructions for making a corner.
I have designed my version of a corner. . . . .


. . . . and the instructions on how to make it.

Uses two shuttles, starting along the straight edge.


R(3-3-3-3), reverse work (RW).
Switch Shuttles (SS), R(3-3-3-3), do not reverse (DNR).
(*) SS, C(4) DNR.
R(3+3-3-3) join to last picot of adjacent ring (first ring made), RW.
SS, R(3+3-3-3), join to last picot of adjacent ring (2nd ring made), DNR.

Repeat from (*) until ready to make the corner, as follows;
After completing the last pair of the facing rings, make C(3), RW.
R(3+3-3-3-3-3) join to the last picot of the adjacent ring, RW.
C(3+), lock join to the inside ring of the the last pair of rings before the turn, RW.
R(3+3-3-3) join to the last picot of the ring in the corner, DNR.

Repeat from (*) until ready to make the next corner.

What a Damper!

Just found out that the new layout of my blog can't be viewed fully with Internet Explorer (IE) ... I went back to the site where I downloaded it from and there was a notice recommending the use of Firefox. My mistake for not paying attention to it ... because I am using Firefox .. duh ...

But what is the point of having a blog if not to share what I write. So, I don't mind forgoing the new layout .... and I really like the 3-column layout .... for the moment until I can find another one.

That is the reason that you now see this switched back to the old layout so as not to disappoint my regular readers who are not using Firefox.
Just read a very mournful e-mail from Maureen about this, :-(
Ooops ... now you know one of my weaknesses .. I am a sucker for sad stories, he... he....

Luckily I saved the previous layout before making the change. There shouldn't be a problem to put it back. Any topsy-turvy will be put right in a while.

Please ignore the previous post. I am not removing it just yet ... someone may find the link useful.

Dimpled Chain Edging

This edging is made up entirely of chains .. with a dimple in each one of them!


sp - small picot
vsp - very small picot
RW - reverse work
DNR - do not reverse
SLT - shoe lace trick

The pattern
Wind a shuttle from a ball CTM

The straight side
1. Start with a picot at the beginning of the first chain. I used a paperclip to hold the thread for a mock picot. C(6 sp 3-3 sp 5+3-3 sp-6+), where
1st join is to the previous sp of the chain;
2nd join to the mock picot left after the paperclip is removed from the chain. RW and SLT.
2. * C(3-3 sp 5+3-2), join to the sp of the same chain. RW and SLT.
3. Make a downward facing picot at the beginning of the next chain.
4. # C(5+3-3 sp 5+3-3 sp 6+),
1st join to the sp of the previous dimpled chain; 2nd join to the sp picot of the same chain; 3rd join to the downward picot at the beginning of the chain. RW and SLT.

Repeat from * for the length of the straight side.

The corner
5. After #, make C(3-3 sp 5+3 vsp 3). RW and SLT.
6. Make a downward picot at the beginning of the next chain, followed by (6+3-3 sp 5+3-3 sp 6+). Joining as in Step 4. DNR.
7. C(6+3-3 sp 5+3-3 sp 6+), 1st and 2nd join as in Step 4; 3rd join to the same downward picot joined earlier. RW and SLT.
8. C(3+3 sp 5+3-3), 1st join to the adjacent vsp; 2nd join to the sp of the same chain. RW and SLT.

Continue from # for the straight side until you are ready to make the next corner.

Additional Note
If you study the chart, you'll realise that this edging can also be tatted up similar to making the standard ring-and-chain, except that now the rings and chains have dimples in them.

But, I don't fancy the idea of having to close loads of dimpled rings. Working with chains are whole lot easier because I don't have to worry about closing any rings. For those who want to try it that way, Jane Eb has drawn up a neat method on how to close dimpled rings.

Please test out the pattern for me and point out any corrections that needs to be done. I got confused myself when writing this out, especially with the RWs and the SLTs.

A Row of Crowns

Another edging design with the corner included.....


... and the diagram.....


I couldn't pick a name for this edging at first. It looks like a series of crowns. Looking at it again, it appears like scared faces with the hair all standing up! Some have even suggested that each repeat look like a frog!

But I'm going with my first instinct and call it A Row of Crowns

A little explanation about the chart -

1. Make the third picot in the R(3-3-3-3-3-3-3) small.

2. The ring shown in blue/green at the corner is a SCMR. After making (4+4..) of the SCMR, switch shuttle and make the clover. Resume the SCMR with another 4ds and close. Using SCMR allows you to make the corner in one pass.

3. If you do not wish to use the SCMR, ignore that part when you make the corner. Instead make the chain as (8-4) for the first repeat at the turn. When you have completed the round for the edging, go back to each corner and fill it in. With shuttle only, make the clovers as in the diagram. Then, make the fourth ring R(4+4+4), joining to the picot in each chain at the corner. Cut and join to the base of the clover.

Tatted Snowflakes Collection

This is my first book. The inspiration for this book are the encouraging comments that I receive each time I put up a new design in my blog, and the push from close friends who have the confidence in me to pull this through.

This is an excellent book for for intermediate and advanced tatters. It is also a wonderful collection of snowflakes for those beginners looking to advance their knowledge and tatting skills, especially on using split rings and mock rings.

There are 15 snowflake design in the book. Here are a selection of the designs available.

There are 33 pages in the book, printed in an easy to carry size of A5 (about 15cm by 20cm). The book is wire-bound which allows for the book to lay flat when opened. The pages are printed in such a way that when it is opened flat, you can view both the written instruction and the chart together without having to turn the page.

Here is a sample page from the book

and view a slide of the snowflakes designs available in the book.

Each book is priced at US$18.00 plus postage. Shipping is via the Malaysian Postal Service and will be different according to region.

I accept payment via Paypal from international purchasers. Please e-mail me for the price in Malaysian Ringgit.

I do not have an online store. I f you are interested in a copy (or two) of the the book drop me an e-mail to jonyusoff(at)yahoo(dot)com. I will get back to you with further details.

Bookmark with Overlapping Chains

Uses Shuttle and ball

Round 1


There are no joins in this round except for where the last chain is joined to the base of the first ring.
Begin with R(4-4-4-4), RW followed by chain C(8-8).
Repeat these two steps for the length of the bookmark that you need and make the end as follows;

• After the last ring of one side of the bookmark, make C(4), RW followed by R(4-4-4-4). RW again and make C(4).
  

Make the second side as the first and repeat the opposite end, ending with C(4).
Cut off the thread. Arrange the chains so that the first row chains overlap the second row chains. When you have made the overlaps in the chains, join the last chain to the base of the first ring, tie and hide ends.

Chart for Rounds 2 and 3

Round 2

Begin with a ring R(4+4+4+4),

• 1^st join to the side picot of any ring of the Round 1;
• 2^nd join to the opposite chain of Round 1; and
• 3^rd join to the side picot of the next ring of Round 1.

Reverse work and make the chain C(3-3). Lock join to the middle picot of the next ring of Round 1 and repeat the chain C(3-3).

Repeat the steps until you have made the lock join to the last ring of one side of Round 1.

For the end, make C(3-6), reverse follwed by R(6+4+6), joining to the picots on each side of the rings at the end of Round 1. Lock join to the middle picot of the ring at the end of Round 1. Repeat, in reverse, for the other side.

Continue with the earlier steps for the straight side and the other end. Cut and join to the beginning.

Round 3

Round 3 are all chains with 2 double stitches separating the picots as in the chart.

New 3-column Look

I finally found what I am looking for, a 3-column page for my blog, at this site called Simply fabulous prepared by Lena Toews.




There are so many to choose from and it was so difficult to decide on the one that I really like. Just take a look at the selection that she has put in her blog and you'll know what I mean. You can even ask for your own custom-made template for a price.

There are also tutorials to walk you through on installing the new templates and help you edit the template to suit your taste. For someone who doesn't know much about the HTML stuff, I can tell you that the steps are so easy to follow.

The downside is that, almost all of the widgets that I had earlier were deleted when I put in the new template especially the links that I created for my Patterns, Tutorials and my Bloglist. I'll be adding them in one by one. Luckily I saved all the external 3rd party HTMLs before putting in the new template.

Two Shuttles vs SLT

I was asked by someone if one of my patterns, which uses two shuttles, can be made with a shuttle and ball and the shoe-lace-trick (SLT). And I said ... sure, it can be made that way and did not think much about it.

The SLT is made by making the first knot when tying a shoe lace. This switches the position of the shuttle thread with the ball thread, so that you can use the shuttle to make a ring at the top of a chain.

Later, when I was thinking of the optimum way to make a number of small snowflakes where the design requires two shuttles, I got to thinking about the SLT again. And it made me realise something. Maybe, this picture below will help to illustrate better as I try to explain this.


These two snowflakes have the same stitch counts for the rings, chains and the josephine knots, but they look a little different. That is because each is tatted differently. The one on the left was made using two shuttles, and I used a shuttle and ball and the SLT to make the one on the right.

Using two shuttles gives a smooth rounded curve in the chains for each point of the snowflake.
But with the SLT, you'll notice a kink in the chain. That is where the SLT was made in order to switch the position of the shuttle thread to make the josephine knot for the point of the snowflake. This resulted in a more pointed snowflake.

Each one is pretty on its own, but I like the one made with the SLT better.

This brings me back to the question asked, two shuttles or SLT?

I suppose it depends on how you want your finish to be like. Some designs look better with a smooth curve in the chains supporting the rings on top of it, while some may look better using the SLT.

Square Motif

This design is made up of four small squares joined up together.

The chart for each small square is given below.

Daisy Picot Snowflake

Click here for the pdf file of the pattern.
Click here for the instructions on how to make daisy picots.


Wind two shuttle with different colour thread for each shuttle.

The centre Daisy - 6 rings altogether.

R(5-3-2-2-3-5). You can make the centre picot slightly bigger for decorative purposes.
R(5+3-2-2-3-5), joining to the last picot of the previous ring.
The last ring is joined to the previous ring and also to the first ring with the folded join.

Round 1
R1(6+6), joining to the 3rd free picot of any of the rings in the centre daisy.
R2(6+6), joining to the 1st free picot of the next ring of the centre daisy.
Reverse work.

Make a chain C(2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2) Do not reverse.

(*)Now make the daisy picots with 3 petals, where each petal is (5-5) and 2ds between each petal.

Close the ring, do not reverse and repeat the chain.

Reverse work and repeat the two rings of R(6+6), joining the 1st ring to the 3rd free picot of the previous ring and the 2nd ring to the 1st free picot of the next ring of the centre daisy.

Reverse work and repeat the chain (2+2-2-2-2-2-2-2), joining to the last picot of the previous chain.

Repeat from (*) to complete the snowflake.

Hearts in a Snowflake

Round 1

R1(3-3-3-3-3-3) cl R and RW.
C1(3-3) RW.
R2(4-4-4-4) cl R and RW.
Repeat C1.
Repeat from R1 until you have 6 rings of R1 and 6 rings of R2, and join the last chain to the first ring.

Round 2
Make a clover as follows, - R1(2-4-4-2), R2(2+4-4-2), R3(2+4-4-2). DNR
Switch shuttles and make a chain C(2+4-4-4), join to the last picot of the 3rd ring in the clover.
Then, shuttle join to the middle picot of R1 of Round 1, and continue with the next part of the chain with (4-4-4-2).
Switch shuttles and repeat the clover. This time, for the first ring in the clover make (2+4-4-2) where the join is to the last picot of the previous chain.

Repeat the clover and the chain until the round is complete. Join the last chain to the first ring and tie and cut.

Rings only Snowflake with Beads

R = ring

SR = Split ring
+ = join
sp = small picot
C = Chain
o = beaded picot
RW = reverse work
DNR = Do Not Reverse
SS = Switch Shuttle

String 43 beads onto Shuttle 1, and 7 beads onto Shuttle 2. I would normally add a few beads extra on each shuttle - just to be safe.

Sh 1:
R1(4 o 4sp4 o 4) cl R, DNR

The next step between (* - * )describes the self-closing-mock-ring (SCMR)

(*) Using Shuttle 2;
- C(4 o 2), SS
- R2(5 o 5), cl R and SS
- C(2 o 2), SS
- R3(5 o 5), cl R and SS
- C(2 o 2), SS
- R4(5 o 5) cl R and SS
- C(2 o 4) (*)
Close the SCMR

Sh 1:
SR5(4 o 4/4 o 4)
Repeat (* -*) for the next point of the snowflake, joining R2 to picot of R4 instead of adding the bead to the picot.
Make three more repeats .

For the last repeat, join the SCMR to the to the sp of R1 to complete the motif.

Today is 08.08.08

I don't want to miss the opportunity to have this recorded on my blog page, :-). The numbers line up very nicely, don't you think?

I don't give any significance to numbers but they do play their part in so much as the fact the I deal with numbers a lot. I studied Mathematics at university, then later worked in a bank. There are lots of numbers going around there. And again, I deal with numbers in tatting especially in counting the doublestitches for my patterns.

But there are communities and cultures who rely on numbers and numerology in planning their life. The most significant one was in determining the date and time for the opening ceremony of the this year's summer Olympics in Beijing.

Did you know that the date and time are specially picked so that they show 08.08.08.08.08 - i.e. August 8th, '08 at 8 minutes past 8 in the evening.

Then again, on August 20th, 2008 you'll get another nicely arranged set of numbers - 20.08.2008

For further reading;
Numbers in Chinese Culture - from Wikipedia
08/08/08 adds up to a lucky day

However not all 8's are lucky, like what is written here in this article, Power of eight.

Not forgetting that this blog is about tatting, I have posted a picture of another bookmark that I have just completed. I have made this design before but had given it away. So I made another one to keep. Do you the 8's in there?

Double-decker Star

This star design has mock rings in it. To find out how to make mock rings, click here for the tutorial.

The pattern uses two shuttles.

R(6---6), make the picot long enough to join four other rings to it. Reverse work.
(*) C(3-3-3), do not reverse.
The next step is for a mock ring.
MR(4-4 ..) , the .. indicates that the mock ring is not yet complete and will be continued later.
Switch shuttles and make a full ring R(3-3-3-3) and close this ring.
Switch shuttles and continue the second part of the mock ring MR(.. 4-4). Now close the mock ring.
Continue with C(3-3-3) and reverse work.
Then, ring R(6+6), joining to the long picot of the first ring, reverse work.
Repeat from (*) for the other four points of the star, joining the last chain to the ring at the beginning of the motif.

If you make the picot in the first ring large enough, and make six repeats in all you'll get a double-decker snowflake.

Summertime Exchange Gifts and tiny hooks

I took part in a Summertime Exchange organised for members of HBT Yahoo Groups. And just look at the goodies that I received from Susan BT. Here they are all together -

... and the close-ups ...

Star and Coats Tatting thread,
a Card that Susan has decorated with tatting,
and some blank ones for me to decorate myself.

A fabric hold-all which opens up to show these.........

A spool of Sulky thread,
Beading thread - I have not seen anything like this before,
Beads one in a phial and another in a smaller container,

A pack of floss threaders - woo...wooo ... now I can practice my clunys.
And the special thing about the hold-all - there are small pockets in there to stow away all the small stuff, clever idea!

Five Workbasket magazines - now I can understand what you are

talking about when referring to them in your posts,
A piece of linen hankie.

And the tatting part - a bookmark of Susan's own design,

a heart from Karey Solomon's Tatting with Buttons.

Susan also sent me some chocolates, but they didn't stand the heat and went all soft, but still in the wrappings. I put it in the fridge immediately and got to taste it after it hardened. Lovely - I love chocolate with hazelnuts.

On my part, my gifts are for Arlene. You can see what I made for her in her blog. I have enjoyed putting all the gifts for her, but the one that I like most is this bag that I made,

This is a close-up of the tatting on the bag.

And to make it a double celebration, the tiny hooks that I ordered from Georgia Seitz also arrived the same day. They are shown here with a shuttle for to show you the size.

The snowflake-in-the-making is using one of the balls of thread I received from Susan using a pattern from one of the Workbasket magazines. You can guess that I am so excited about receiving the summertime gifts that I started to work with them straightaway.

Thank you Susan for the gifts and Sue for organising the exchange. Doing my Happy, happy dance!