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The Lace Mat

I wrote to the National Library of Australia (NLA) expressing my intention to rewrite the tatting patterns published in newspapers in Australia from the early 1930s.  I personally want to do this to preserve the designs and make them accessible to current tatters who may find it cumbersome reading patterns written in the earlier style.  I am happy to say that the NLA has no objections provided that I cite the original source of the patterns that I have done with each re-write/chart that I share in my blog.

The Lace Mat is the first pattern by Norma Benporath that I tatted.  It was published in The Queenslander on  16th March 1938 (the Trove site is currently having technical difficulties so you may not be able to see the actual tatting shown in the newspaper).  I have now completed the chart and am happy to share it here.


A few points that I'd like to mention regarding this doily and the chart.

  • The stitch count between picots is 3ds throughout, except for a few rings and chains as seen in the chart.
  • There are four rounds, each in the different colours shown.  The clovers at the top are tatted separately and joined to the doily at the picots.
  • When tatting the first round (blue in the chart) it will appear as if the piece is not turning out right with the overlapping of rings and all, but it will flatten out when you join the last ring to complete the circle.
I plan to tat this again since that first piece has been given away.  Anybody care to join me? We can have a Tat-along of this doily.
Click on the chart to open it larger, then right-click on the enlarged image to save it on your computer.  If you still have difficulties, pleas e-mail me for a pdf of the chart.  I may only be able to e-mail it to you a day later as I may not be online when you send the e-mail.
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Comments

  1. Marty12 September 2012 at 23:48

    Wow, thanks for all your hard work, Jon. The diagram looks great! I'll give it a try! I haven't done a tat-along in a long time. I've printed the pattern and am hoping a miracle occurs before I get to that last round (I'm thinking up ways to avoid those separate clovers).

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  2. Marilee Rockley13 September 2012 at 00:24

    Wow, to rewrite so many old patterns is a big undertaking! That is so very good of you to volunteer your time and talents to do it.

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    Replies
    1. Tat-a-Renda14 September 2012 at 17:55

      Some of the designs are too beautiful to be left alone un-tatted. I am doing what I can to get them out for tatters to enjoy.

      Delete
    2. Barbara Gordon1 August 2015 at 23:11

      So very true Jon. I thank you also..!

      Delete
  3. Beelizabeth13 September 2012 at 01:13

    My thanks also for diagraming this pattern. I went to the site a while ago but was overwhelmed by the format of the patterns. I can now try sties one.

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  4. Gwen13 September 2012 at 01:21

    So generous of you to take on this project! I couldn't get anywhere with the original pattern so I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with yours. Thank you!

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  5. Gwen13 September 2012 at 01:22

    Thank you for taking on this (overwhelming) project and sharing the results with us! I couldn't get anywhere with the original pattern so I'm looking forward to trying again with yours.

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  6. God's Kid13 September 2012 at 01:41

    Oh, I wish I didn't have other things that HAVE to get done!!! I would love to join in!!! :)

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  7. Pop Lenuta Maria13 September 2012 at 01:52

    Thank you for pattern. A lol o work. I start today in white.

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  8. Kathy Niklewicz13 September 2012 at 02:01

    Brilliant work, Jon! And a noble project!
    I wish I could master the software for drawing, as you have!

    I'm glad I'm living in the era when charted/drawn patterns are now the norm for all kinds of needlework. A major breakthrough back in the 19690s in charted knitting for complex cable designs enabled me to more easily knit Aran sweaters. Crochet drawings took awhile to be accepted but are 'normal' these days in crochet books(although I'd hesitate to draw one!). But it took a LONG time for tatting drawings (even in black and white) to be accepted (probably because of lack of popularity of tatting) In my opinion adding color makes a big difference to differentiate the rounds!

    I'm tempted to start tatting this, but I have too many other things on my plate right now (non-tatting), but I'm so glad the pattern is there! Thanks so much for your dedication to preserving tatting history!

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  9. Frances13 September 2012 at 02:57

    may I have a pdf copy please
    francesscerri@bigpond.com

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  10. Ladytats13 September 2012 at 03:29

    Thanks for the diagram Jon.
    A Tat-along, I'm game I too would like to avoid the separate clovers, Marty, we will have to see what we can come up with.

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  11. ** jess! **13 September 2012 at 04:31

    Impeccable Jon! (like always!) I'm game! It may take me awhile to finish though since I am back in school now. But, I look forward to seeing all the different results. :o)
    Now... to decide which of my colors do I want use... hmmm....
    <3

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  12. Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane13 September 2012 at 05:32

    I would love to tat-along! I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up, though... I have tons of snowflakes that I need to finish by the end of October. Still, it will be a nice change of pace. Thanks for the offer!

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  13. IsDihara13 September 2012 at 06:54

    Wow, a Tat-Along is a great idea! I will give it a try too. (Not that I have nothing else to tat...almost all of my Tat Days classwork needs to be completed. But THIS is a Norma Benporath mat.) Count me in.

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  14. Anonymous13 September 2012 at 09:32

    I will say wow also!!! I would love to give a tat-along a try! I only have one project going right now so one more will be fun!! Could you send me a pdf copy please :)
    tattabuggslace@yahoo.com Thank you so much for your hard work and making this lovely doily so much easier for all of us!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Michelle13 September 2012 at 10:16

    I would love to tat-a-long, what a beautiful pattern! I'm not sure I could keep up with school but I'm willing to try. Will you please send the PDF to magistravitt AT gmail DOT com? Thank you so much for your amazing contributions to the tatting world. Plus I think it would be so wonderful to be tatting the same pattern with someone on the other side of the world- I love the internet!!!

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  16. Julie Romero13 September 2012 at 12:51

    Thank you so much for your wonderful work on this! I wanted to try it right away when I saw you had posted this, I have my 1st round done, I will try to get it posted in the morning...managed sew in the ends and block it a bit tonight...but now it is too late to get decent pics. Such a pretty pattern...looking forward to continueing!

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  17. Unknown13 September 2012 at 15:25

    Thanks a lot ! I want to try too!
    liessae@gmail.com

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  18. Giusi13 September 2012 at 20:41

    Thankyou so much Jon, you are soo generous..could I get a pdf copy sent to me please..meekcmc AT hotmail DOT com

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  19. Ladytats13 September 2012 at 21:16

    Hi Jon, I posted about your offering the graphic pattern and your Tat-along on my blog.
    Thanks for hosting this

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  20. Ladytats13 September 2012 at 21:16

    oops forgot the link http://ladytats.blogspot.com/2012/09/come-along-on-tat-along.html

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  21. Ana R.13 September 2012 at 21:20

    Muchas gracias Jon por el patron!!! lo estoy haciendo, aunque con menos puntas, tuve problemas en la primera vuelta. Luego lo hare de nuevo

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  22. Bree at "Bree's Way"13 September 2012 at 21:38

    What a beautiful pattern, Thank You so much for charting it out, I would love love love to attempt this one! ty for posting!!!!!

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  23. Margarets designer cards13 September 2012 at 22:20

    How brilliant to re write an old pattern, must have taken you ages, and Jon for doing a beautiful diagragh.
    I would love to join in but I have a few bits on, I would love a copy of the file
    margaret.davies534@btinternet.com
    Margaret

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  24. tatcrazy14 September 2012 at 01:54

    I love it, would love to participate in the tat-long. Can you email me the pdf? to crazytatter01@yahoo.com

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  25. sewfuncreations14 September 2012 at 03:38

    Thank you for doing this. I would love to join the tat-along. The picture is a little small for me could you send me a PDF file.
    sewfuncreations@gmail.com
    Thanks Pat

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  26. tatcrazy14 September 2012 at 08:58

    Please send me a copy of the pdf too, I'd like to join in the fun too. crazytatter01@yahoo.com

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  27. Cindy14 September 2012 at 09:59

    As I posted on LadyTats blog, I've been considering finding a doily pattern to work on. This will be great to participate with others to keep motivated - though I might be a little slow keeping up. Thank you! I'm looking forward to joining in.

    Please email the file to me at ahappybluebird (at) gmail (dot) com.

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  28. Unknown14 September 2012 at 10:52

    Hi Jon, count me in too. I think I'll do the clovers first, then add them as I go. "Sakit dulu, senang kemudian".

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  29. Tat-a-Renda14 September 2012 at 17:49

    Very clever to start with the clovers first.

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  30. Nancy G14 September 2012 at 21:19

    Wow..It looks wonderful. Thank you again, for all you do and share! Yes, please include me in for a PDF chart.
    nldugas@swbell.net

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  31. donna15 September 2012 at 00:46

    I would love to tat-a-long! I can't wait to get home and choose a thread.

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  32. Valerie15 September 2012 at 21:20

    Looks very interesting. It's great that you volunteered to do a re-take of these vintage patterns! I'll join in the tat-along, although I may be slow. Thanks, Jon!

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  33. Valerie16 September 2012 at 12:55

    Jon, quick question:

    Do you tat row by row, ie T&C after every row, or do you do a split ring/chain to get to the next row in this pattern?

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    Replies
    1. Tat-a-Renda16 September 2012 at 22:20

      1st round and 2nd round are joined by split rings. I have to cut after round two because I made a wrong start with the split of Rd 2 and it will be a bit complicated to do split chains to go to Rd 3.

      Delete
  34. Fox16 September 2012 at 13:14

    I am even slower! But I would also like a PDF so that I can get to the tat-along - eventually!

    Thanks, Jon. This is a lovely opportunity and such a labour of love of tatting by you. Well done!
    Fox : )

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  35. Fiona T16 September 2012 at 14:31

    I would love to tat along too Jon. Thanks so much for doing this wonderful work.

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  36. Fiona T16 September 2012 at 14:32

    I would love to tat along too Jon. Thanks for the wonderful work you are doing on this.

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    Replies
    1. Tat-a-Renda16 September 2012 at 22:22

      You are welcome. This is a start. I hope many others will make the effort to re-write/chart the patterns because there are many more waiting to be done.

      Delete
    2. Fiona T17 September 2012 at 06:44

      I blogged about this yesterday, and hope to test tat and chart some too. We probably need some way of tagging those being worked on so we don't double up, though I don't think it will matter too much. It is exciting to be part of this massive scale, crowd-sourced project. I love the internet and the possibilities it provides us to connect to each other and work together.

      Delete
  37. Anonymous17 September 2012 at 08:35

    What a wonderful undertaking, Jon, and what a massive one! Thanks for all your work. I'd love a copy of the pdf file. Hugs. Yuma Tatter
    travelingdancers (at) inbox.com

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  38. Shannon McElfresh17 September 2012 at 11:16

    Can I join? I would need the pdf also. My blog is
    http://shannonsdelights.blogspot.com/. Thanks for doing this. I enjoy tatting with this community of tatters.

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  39. Beverly17 September 2012 at 20:18

    Jon,
    Can you please tell me how you do your graphs? I'd love to do my patterns in both hand-written and graphs for those who do one but not the other. Unfortunately, I haven't had much success other than to copy/paste into paint and then write on top of that. I don't believe that's as clear as the graph alone style. Can you help me?

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    Replies
    1. Tat-a-Renda19 September 2012 at 16:19

      I wrote two posts on drawing tatting diagrams a while ago. You can take a look at Drawing Tatting Charts, and another one on Drawing Templates for Tatting Diagrams.
      I hope you will find them useful to help you with your diagramming.

      Delete
  40. Martha18 September 2012 at 14:03

    I would like to join in the Tat-a-long. I have a few commitments first, so I will get off to a late start. Thank you for posting the diagram (it printed fine for me) and for your later hints to climb up to the next rounds.

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  41. Soleil18 September 2012 at 19:24

    Thank you for the pattern, I would love to tat along.
    I will choose the thread for this beautiful pattern with a lots of joy :)

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  42. Vera23 September 2012 at 22:20

    Én is megcsináltam a harmadik sort....Nagyon jó és szép minta..

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  43. basia194711 October 2012 at 19:37

    Bardzo dziękuję za tak piękny wzór serwetki ,jest piękna koniczynke u góry to łatwo 3 kółeczka dołączyć , ja jeszcze mało robię bo dopiero się nauczyłam ale ta wydaje się łatwa jak zrobie to się pochwalę jeszcze raz serdecznie dziękuję i zyczę miłej pracy frywolitkowej:)

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  44. Claire18 March 2015 at 20:51

    With a few Francophone tatters from the Facebook group "Frivolité", we are starting this lace mat as a tat-along. Thanks for your clear diagram and explanations.

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  45. Irena30 April 2015 at 19:39

    Bardzo ładny wzór, pozdrawiam

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  46. Barbara Gordon1 May 2015 at 03:23

    I love the finished look of this one. Have not put it on my list (which is getting pretty long) Thanks..

    ReplyDelete

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