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This old doily has waited patiently for me to finish it for oh, five or six years. It has been so long now that I don’t even remember when I finished the tatting. All there is left to do is sew in a few ends and block it, and with one thing and another I haven’t gotten around to doing it. Until now.
This special doily will be featured in my next Absolute Beginner tatting lesson, on blocking your project. I’m now glad that I didn’t finish it yet, because it is the perfect demo: wrinkly and large and circular, so I can demo how to block a large piece.
Well, at least one way of blocking it. I can’t exactly undo and redo it five different ways once it is blocked. Though I do have two other doilies sitting in a drawer, they both have other problems and aren’t ready for blocking.
So, over the next week or two I will hide the ends, pin it like a mad woman, break out the starch and take pictures all along the way.
What is your favorite method of stiffening? I usually use spray starch, but sometimes watered down Elmer’s glue. Do you prefer starch, glue, sugar, something else?
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personally i prefer glue. glue watered down a bit. and applied with a paintbrush.
In the past I’ve pinned projects down and then sprayed with water and nothing more. However, I’ve recently discovered Mary Ellen’s Best Press and do like it. I found it at a local quilt store at a reasonable price. The label says “The Clear Starch Alternative. Karen
Karen, I’ve used that for quilting but haven’t tried it on tatting yet. I’ll have to try it on a smaller piece. Thanks for the tip!
Don’t use sugar! We were given a lovely doily that was blocked with sugar. Withing a couple of years it got really moldy. That is a sad fate for a beautiful doily.
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Very nice.
I’m a fan of “Stiffy” (unfortunate name.. great starch) — just paint it on with a little paint brush (or dip it in, but that tends to use more than I like)