Now you can tat rings and chains, make picots and join them together. The last video showed how to add a new thread and then hide the tails under a chain thread. This is really handy if you run out of thread part way through a project, or if you simply forgot to start with two threads.
This lesson will focus on that last technique: starting out with two threads. If you haven’t already watched the last video on adding a new thread, please do that now as it will make this lesson much easier.
STARTING WITH TWO THREADS
If you are making a design that uses both rings and chains together near the beginning, you will often want to start with two threads. Take two shuttles wound with two different colors of thread, and tie the ends of the threads together in a simple square knot. Now the two tails are coming out facing opposite directions.
Take one color of thread and make a ring, being careful to hide the tail of that same color thread under your stitches using the method shown in the last lesson. Finish your ring and close it. Now you have one tail hidden, and one tail to go.
Reverse your work and make a chain with the other color thread, hiding the second tail under the chain stitches in like manner. That’s it! Now you have both tails hidden under stitches, but this time there is much less bulk as each set of stitches is concealing only one thread.
HIDING STITCHES UNDER PICOTS
Hiding those tail ends under rings and chains is a really handy way to get rid of them without having to sew them in or do any special tricks. (We’ll cover those options later, by the way.) But what if the first few stitches of your ring or chain calls for a picot? How do you hide the ends then?
Not to worry, it is not as tricky as it might at first seem. Simply make the first half of the double stitch for the picot as usual, pulling the tail through the flipped stitch and along the shuttle thread as we’ve been doing. Then hold the picot in place against the finger of your working hand as usual while you make the second half of the stitch and hide the end. Here’s the bit that’s different: Before sliding the picot next to the last stitch, grab hold of the tail end and hold it taught as you pull. This keeps the shuttle thread and the hidden tail from bunching up inside the picot.
There you go, a thread hidden underneath a picot. Or many picots; make as many as you like, so long as your hidden thread is nice and straight along the shuttle thread. Here is the video so you can get a visual of these instructions.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EKrTDGcU0I]
This post is part of a series of Absolute Beginner Tatting Lessons. Go back to the previous lesson, Adding a Second Thread and Hiding Ends, or jump ahead to the next lesson, Reverse and Turn Work, an Exploration.
You’ve created another well done video! Maybe I don’t pull my knots tight enough. I’m always bothered by the extra little bump at the beginning. Lately I’ve been making my first ring, and then I add the thread for my chain at the base of the ring. I don’t make a knot, just the first half of the knot to secure it to the base, and then I continue as you have. It sometimes looks like there’s an extra stitch, but I don’t have the same amount of bulk. Have you ever tried joining this way?
Keep producing videos, please! I love them!
Oops! I just answered my own question! Somehow, I missed your last video. Another well done visual instruction!
Oh, another thought you could cover. The weaver’s knot and how to make it. It’s a lot less bulkier than the square knot. Useful when joining threads mainly. I’m trying hard to keep you busy!!!!!
Jane, do keep me busy! It’ll keep me out of trouble. 🙂
Hallo, I came by chance along your videos on youtube. I am not a beginner in shuttle tatting, but also a specialist in needle tatting and teacher.
So I remember when learning to hide the ends of thread, I just was told, to put the ends through the loop before closing the stich. I had trouble to get the ends through the loops. because I thought to take care of the direction, I did from above down in the first half stich and in the second from down up through the loop.
In your video I recognized that you do it always the downway, but change the side of the loop thread you are pickeing up: first the right thread and second the left thread. It seams to me to be easier to put the ends only down through the stich. May be other teachers don’t show the way to get the end through the loop not as exactly as you did it. Well done!!!
Gunhild, there are probably a few ways people do this, but I’ve found this way to be easiest for me. I’m glad it helps you out too. Glad you found the videos on YouTube, and keep checking back as I will be posting more every week.
Excellent!
Fox : )
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THANK YOU!! I have been tatting for 20 years and have never learned how to properly hide ends. I have loved watching your lessons. You are great at teaching and clearly explaining. I am beginning a big tatting project and your tips are going to help me to create something of better quality that will last. I’m so glad I found your site!!