If you’ve been following the Absolute Beginner Tatting Series you can now flip a stitch, make rings and chains, reverse work to combine them, and read any beginner level pattern. You can add thread when you run out, hide those beginning tails, and even complete your motif using a folded join. Look at how much you can do!
Maybe you’ve noticed that when you finish your motif or edging or whatever project you are working on, you’ve got two thread ends left over. Just knotting them and cutting them close to the knot will likely make them unravel with time, even if you make a very good knot. So what do you do?
Hide them. There are a number of methods of hiding ends, and this is just one. It requires a bit of pre-planning, but is well worth the effort. The nice thing about this method is that when you finish tatting the project, your thread ends are ready to slip under the stitches and go away.
Here’s how to do it, in 7 easy peasy steps:
- When you are getting close to finishing, stop about 5 to 6 stitches before the end.
- From the ball, cut off a length of extra thread, roughly 10 to 12 inches. Fold that in half, and lay the folded extra thread along your working thread.
- Continue tatting the remaining stitches, tatting over the folded thread, hiding it under the stitches. Tie off the finished work as normal.
- Cut off the two threads, leaving several inches, and insert the ends into the loop of the folded thread.
- With one hand, get a good grip on the last several stitches you made, and with the other hand grip the ends of the folded thread tightly.
- Now PULL THAT FOLDED THREAD OUT FAST AND HARD. It will pull your tail ends through the last several stitches you made.
- All that’s left is to tidy up a bit. Tug the ends to make sure they are all the way through and cut them off as close as possible to where they peak out between stitches. That’s it!
In this video you can watch the magic thread trick in action.
Please note: The closed captions aren’t quite ready yet, but will be up soon. I apologize if I’m making you wait.
This post is part of a series of Absolute Beginner Tatting Lessons. Go back to the previous lesson, Finishing a Tatted Motif with a Folded Join, or skip ahead to the next lesson, Sewing in Ends, Method 1.
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I love this trick. I use dental flossers instead and love them- no fuzzy bits and they’re pretty tough and can be reused. They’re blue and have a loop already.
Brilliant trick!!
Your video is totally brilliant! I’ve heard of the trick but never bold enough to try it. You made it look really simple. Will definitely give this a try in my next tatted piece. Thanks!
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I ran out of shuttle thread in the middle of a project. How do I attach more thread and keep on working. Thanks
Look for my post on “adding thread” for detailed instructions and a video. Click on the tab “Learn Tatting” for a list of all my instructional videos.
I embraced the idea of the “magic thread” whole heartedly but try as I might I could not get that much bulk to go through at one time. I have come up with a workable solution. I put a “magic thread” at the beginning of the first chain, loop first and the 2 loose ends taped to the shuttle. In the last chain I put the “magic thread” as you show, loop taped to the shuttle. When I am ready to finish I pull one end thread through in one direction and the other in the opposite direction. I use quilting thread. It is strong, thin and does not leave any traces of color.
Thank you for your tutorials. I am a self taught tatter, 40 years ago, and still learning!
My grandma taught me dbl stitches and picots years ago and that’s all I ever learned. I’m thrilled to find your videos and learn more. I can’t tell what size thread you are using but it looks more like 10 or 3. I tat with size 80 and when I tried this method I could not get the loop to pull the ends thru and the loop thread just snapped. Any suggestions? The stitches are so small I can’t see getting a needle thru either.
Hi Natasha,
Yes, this trick does work with tatting cotton #80. For this size cotton I use regular sewing thread for the “magic threads”. One thing you have to be very careful is to not let one “magic thread” go to one side of your core thread and the other go to the other side. Watch each stitch to make sure the 2 threads stay together, otherwise you loop will get caught on a knot in the chain, or ring.
I hope you can make it work for you. I find it makes tatting with #80 much more enjoyable, knowing that your tails won’t have to dealt with in the traditional manner of whip stitching over them.
I tat with size 80 and when I tried this I could not get the loop to pull the ends thru and the thread just snapped. The stitches are so small I don’t think there’s any chance of using a needle to hide the ends. Has this trick worked with such small thread?
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I use a variation of this trick. Like Mary, I use two magic threads so I’m putting the two ends under different stitches, from both the beginning and end of the motif. For my magic thread I use “invisible” thread, which is a very fine monofilament, and I tie the loop to a very small pony tail elastic which I put around the bobbin of my shuttle so it just goes along with the core thread. I also tie a length of thread the same size as my tatting thread to the pony tail elastic, which serves to make sure that the stitches are just loose enough to accommodate the thread, without being too loose. This thread is just a little bit shorter than the loop of the magic thread, so it gets pulled out just before the end thread gets pulled in. Everything is nice and tight to prevent the thread from being pulled out, and there’s no noticeable increased thickness in the tatting with the extra threads hidden inside.
I taught myself how to tat with instructions from books and eventually videos, but was never satisfied with the mess I had with my final joins. I would also get so frustrated with trying to hide threads that I would sometimes sabotage my project by not hiding the thread and just cut it. I gave up tatting because of the messes I made.
Then I saw your videos on “folded joining” and “magic thread”. Thank you for saving my projects. Now I will enjoy tatting again.