This is the story of a folded join.

There once was a motif from tat-land, who had rings and chains galore. They went around and around in circles until the last ring almost reached all the way back to the first ring, but not quite.

The little motif wanted her first and last rings to connect, and she tried and tried, but couldn’t get them to join.

Then one day, she met a wise crochet hook that explained to her the mystery of the folded join. The wise crochet hook told her that she needed to hold her last ring in place, then fold the first one over on top of it, so it’s upside down, like turning a page of a book.

Then the wise crochet hook moved upward through the picot and pulled on the working thread, and put the shuttle downward through the loop. She told the motif to finish tatting the ring and close it. Then the little motif unfolded herself and voilá, she was joined together all the way around! And all the motifs of tat-land rejoiced in this new knowledge from the wise crochet hook.

This post is part of a series of Absolute Beginner Tatting Lessons. Go back to the previous lesson, Reading Patterns and Making Projects, Part 2, or skip ahead to the next lesson, How to Hide Ends with the Magic Thread Trick.

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