Tatting is a technique of creating an original lace from knots. In our review - the history and the basics of tatting, plus - master classes on creating a choker necklace and a do-it-yourself bracelet.
What is tatting?
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Frivolite (from French Frivole - empty, frivolous) - the technique of weaving hand lace using special shuttles or a needle with a blunt end. Tatting lace is used to decorate clothes, to create accessories, decorate tablecloths, napkins, bedspreads, etc.
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Tatting differs from other types of lace primarily in that, due to the use of strong threads or even a thin cord and stiff knots, it keeps its shape pretty well. It resembles macrame in some ways (the technique of nodular weaving), but differs from it in great grace and subtlety of work. In the tatting technique, you can weave as, for example, an elegant collar, if you take thin threads, as well as a bracelet, necklace, earrings or other accessories that keep their shape, if you use the material more tightly. Previously, tatting was used primarily to create lace fabric or clothing trim elements, but today this technique is often used to make unusual jewelry and accessories.
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Tatting: History
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The history of this type of needlework is shrouded in mystery. Some sources claim that tatting has "grown" out of the skill of fishermen weaving nets. Others - that the technique of weaving lace using a shuttle was born in the East and from there came to Europe. The third version speaks of the emergence and improvement of such weaving in European monasteries, the fourth - that tatting appeared "at home", in a handmade environment.
One way or another, in a form close to the present, this needlework gained popularity only in the 19th century. The first references to "frivolite" are found in European needlework books of the 20s of that century: along with the dress pattern, an instruction is given to decorate it with an openwork collar in this technique.
Mentioned collar tatting as decoration for dress
One of the first printed tatting guides
Photo: livemaster.ru/viad
Researchers say: the invention of tatting technology gave needlewomen a much simpler and faster way to make lace than before. Weaving lace with a shuttle was not so difficult and long, as traditionally, with bobbins. At first, simple things were done in the tatting technique, such as simple lace braid, but the technique developed rapidly: soon with its help collars, frills, napkins, measured lace, fans, umbrellas and so on began to be made.
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In Russia, the first books on tatting appeared in the 80s of the XIX century. After the revolution, this needlework was almost forgotten. The revival began in the 1960s in the Baltic states, and in the years 1970–80, tatting clubs began to appear in Moscow and Leningrad. Today, this technique is undergoing a new birth: with its help, they make original jewelry and accessories that look elegant and unusual at the same time.
Photo: @elenlukashova
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Tatting for beginners
Lace using the tatting technique can be woven using special shuttles or using a thick and long blunt needle. Both methods have their adherents, the essence and the result of nodular weaving remain the same.
Tatting with a shuttle
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First you need:
• threads for lace;
• special shuttles for tatting (at least two);
• hooks for connecting elements (the thickness of the crochet hook depends on the thickness of the threads);
• needles in order to dissolve unsuccessful fragments;
• scissors.
About the shuttle - a few additional words.
Photo: tattedtreasures.com
Shuttle - the main device for weaving tatting. In fact, it plays the role of a coil on which the working thread is wound, but at the same time, the compressed shuttle plates act as a limiter, preventing the thread from being unwound arbitrarily. Shuttles are made in different sizes, from different materials and several different designs. To get started, you should choose a pair of simple medium-sized shuttles made of durable plastic.
Photo: aliexpress.com
For training, choose a strong, well-twisted, not very thin and not fluffy thread (for example, cotton threads for knitting are suitable). Prepare the tools and wind the thread around the hook.
How to wind a thread on a shuttle:
Now you can start work.
Clear and understandable explanation: tatting knot
Before working with the shuttle, you can practice using thick threads or cords to understand the principle of weaving.
Forward and reverse nodes tatting + pico: a master class
The forward and reverse knots are the two main elements of the double knot, the main one in tatting, pico is a small eyelet decoration.
Ring and arc tatting: master class
If you look closely at works in the tatting technique, you can see that lace mainly consists of rings and arcs.
This video shows you how to make a ring.
This is how to make an arc.
Having mastered the basics, you can try to weave the first product, for example, choker necklace:
Tatting with a needle
Lace using the tatting technique can also be woven without a shuttle using a needle. The needle for such work needs a long, rather thick, with a blunt end and an eye equal in width to the width of the needle itself (not wider).
You will also need:
- threads;
- knitting hook;
- scissors.
This master class shows the basic techniques of working with a needle and tells how to make tatting bracelet:
What is lace: types, features
