Tatting and Knots

This bookmark was made using HDT in size 80 that Zarina was kind enough to pass to me. She said she was not yet comfortable using fine thread for tatting. If you visit her website, I think you'll agree with me that she has done great working with the HDTs.

This is a simple shuttle-and-ball edging design joined back-to-back. At the end of it, it was either making a tassel at the end or weaving a lace through the centre.

To make a tassel, I will have to use more of the HDT - and I felt that would be a waste of some wonderful thread. To weave a ribbon in I have to start the car and drive to the shop and get the ribbon first - and I soooo wanted to finish this as soon as I can.

Then, I remembered that I have a lenght of satin cord that I bought a long time ago when my daughter wanted to learn making chinese knots. So, I used that to weave in the centre. And instead of a tassel, I made a chinese knot for the end.

This is a close up of the bookmark and the knot that I used. The name of the knot is the Good Luck knot.

And below is a scan of one of my current WIP, using a pattern from Tatting with Anne Orr tatted with size 80 DMC Dentelle. The Anne Orr motif is originally a triangular shape. I am working it into a square working continuously without cutting the thread. I reached this far with a bobbin full of thread and scanned this in when the thread ran out and before starting again with a new bobbin.


Laura asked me to explain how I am making the square in one pass. I felt it is better to reply in the post here because it will be easier to refer to the picture above.

You can see the shape of the original triangle motif in the top left which is a right-angled triangle, starting at the pointed corner at the top and ending with the corner on the right. The pattern ends with the last two rings joined together just like at the beginning.

At this corner, I have added one extra short chain (in blue) and one extra ring (in yellow) followed by another short chain (in blue). This brings me back to the starting point for the next triangle motif. The second triangle is joined on the straight side to the first triangle as I tat.

At the end of the second triangle, instead of making short chain-small ring-short chain, I made a long chain. This positions me for the third triangle. The third triangle is joined to the slant side of the triangle (the hypotenuse).

The process is repeated any number of times until you get the size that you want by deciding whether you need to make the short chain-small ring-short chain or the long chain at the end of each triangle.

Hint: It would help if you make a sketch or plan of the shape and size that you want, using the triangle motif as a template. Mark on the sketch the direction that you'll be working the triangle. This will help to determine whether you need to make the short chain-ring-short chain or the long chain on completion of each triangle.

I hope the explanation is clear enough to follow.