Taking a break from life with some well-loved stereograph cards. This one is from a series on WWI.
So what do you do when the weather is questionable, the day is quiet and lonely, or you have guests over with nothing planned? Simple! You bring out the stereoscope and your stereograph cards. Guaranteed to bring a smile, this is good entertainment alone or with a small group.
Sounds almost like an advertisement, doesn’t it? Stereoscopes were inexpensive enough that almost every family had one –– I’ve seen advertised prices for the viewers as low as 24 cents. At that price, a family could afford to splurge on a set or two of cards once in a while.
A closeup look through the stereoscope.
Far away places right into your living room
The stereoscope brought far away places into your sitting room or parlor. You could see photos of India, Japan, or Ireland. You also could look at mountains, rivers, or famous architecture. In fact, regardless where you lived, the stereograph card could introduce you to new places and new technologies.
St. Petersburg, Russia.
Perhaps you didn’t attend the latest World’s Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. Maybe you weren’t even born yet. (It did, after all, occur in 1904.) However, your parents or grandparents might have, and their stack of stereograph cards commemorating the occasion helps you feel like you were almost there yourself.
Women at a chrysanthemum show in Japan.
In case you missed the experience, here are 161 cards from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 that you can view thanks to the Library of Congress. See Theodore Roosevelt’s log cabin. View the Manufacturers Building lit at night with electric lights. Gaze at a gaggle of gondolas as they paddle across the Grand Basin.
Animals figured prominently in the cards as well.
The most popular viewer
While many different versions of the stereoscope viewer exist, one stands out above the rest. You can see a version of it in the photos above. Several inventors tried their hands at the stereoscope viewer, but the one that endures was invented by Oliver Wendell Holmes. You may have heard of him. He was a physician, novelist, poet, essayist, and improver of the stereoscope viewer. He called his version the American Stereoscope, and refused to patent it so that it could be copied freely. And copied freely it was!
If your family attic fails to hold one of these visual wonders, they are plentiful in local antique stores and on eBay. A stereoscope and stereograph cards really are fun as you while away an hour or two looking at the past.
Operating it is simple. You drop the 2-image card into the wire card holder and then look through the viewer. If the image is fuzzy, move the bar towards or away from you a little at a time until it clears. Voilá! A mountainscape. Or a city street. Or maybe even two children feeding their horse.
Some cards were endearing, while others hoped to bring a smile.
Another option is to unearth your childhood possession of the updated stereoscope. They called it the Viewmaster, and you can read my article about it here.
But what about capturing today’s views in the same way? You can definitely make your own stereograph cards with modern photography. If you would like to try your hand at making your own stereoscope or stereograph photos, try this tutorial from Instructables.
Welcome to Part 2 of the short series on two ring tatting design. If you missed it, you can find it here.
Last time we talked about how to make the two individual sized rings. I also gave you patterns for a small edging, a corner, and a scalloped edging. In this post I’ll give you the rest of the patterns. (Unless I decide to design some more. I really like the way these two rings fit together.
This time you get the pattern for the insertion that started this whole two-ring mania. I also give you an octagon that was designed with the set. Unfortunately, handy as they are, the group included no square like you see in the top photo. So I designed one. Look for it at the end of this article.
If you tried any of the patterns in Part 1, you already know the ins and outs of this pattern. That’s useful information before you make these slightly more advanced options. Let’s go directly to the instructions!
Insertion or Very Fluffy Edging
The edging that started this whole adventure.
You can use this as an insertion. It goes between two pieces of fabric to form a lace part of your item. Or you can use this as a very fluffy edging, which is what I plan to do with it.
Like the rest of the patterns in this very short series on two ring tatting, this is made of large and small rings. They are attached the same way that they were before. You start by making a large ring to begin. After that the rhythm is small, small, large, large, small, small, large, large. With each ring you reverse your work. Be sure to leave 1/8 – 1/4 inch thread between each two rings, depending on your thread size.
Here are the instructions written out:
Make a large ring of 2 ds, picot, (1 1/2 ds, picot) 11 times, ending with 2 ds. Close ring.
Reverse work. Leave a small length of thread.
Make a small ring of (3 ds, picot) 3x, 3 ds, close ring.
Reverse work. Leave a small length of thread.
Make a small ring of 3 ds, join to 11th picot of the large ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
Large ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to the last picot of the first small ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) ten times, 2 ds, close ring.
Reverse work. Leave a small length of thread.
Large ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to the last picot of the small ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) ten times, 2 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, leave a small length of thread.
Make a small ring of 3 ds, join to 11th picot of the large ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
Repeat from Step 4.
This uses a lot of thread, but it’s awfully cute when it’s done.
The Versatile Octagon
Gather this like a flower or join several of them together to make a placemat, table mat, whatever you want.
This is the most intricate of all the patterns in this collection. I actually altered the pattern a little to make it more balanced. At he same time, however, it made it a bit more complicated.
You can see that four large rings circle around a small center ring. The original instructions said to join “the middle picot” of the large ring to the center ring. Well, as I count it, a 12-picot ring doesn’t have a middle picot. So I gave those middle large rings 13 picots. Now the count it 6 picots or joins, join at the center, 6 picots, close. If you don’t like my addition, omit it and use a 12-picot large ring. In the original 1919 illustration two of the center rings had 12 picots and two of them had 13. Even the author altered the pattern a bit to make it more understandable.
Here’s how to tat it:
Begin by making a modified center small ring of 2 ds, picot, (3 ds, picot) three times, 1 ds, close ring. You now have a ring of 4 picots completely separated by 3 ds. Close ring and pull tight. Cut the thread and tie. You’ll work the ends in with a needle later.
Make a large ring of 2 ds, picot, (1 1/2 ds, picot) five times, 1 1/2 ds, join to one picot of the small ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) six times, 2 ds, close ring. You have a large ring with 13 picots, joined at the center.
Reverse work, leave a space of thread, make a large ring of 12 picots.
Reverse work, leave a space of thread. Make a small ring of 3 ds, join to 11th picot of first large ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, make a small ring of 3 ds, join to 11th picot of 2nd large ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
Leave a small space of thread but do not reverse your work. Make a large ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to last picot of preceding small ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) ten times, close ring.
Reverse work, make a small ring of 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, join to middle picot of second small ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, make a small ring of 3 ds, join to 11th picot of preceding large ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, make a large ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to last picot of third small ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) four times, 1 1/2 ds, join to the next picot of the center 4-picot ring.
Repeat from Step 3 around, joining a large 13-picot ring to each picot of the center ring, and the last two small rings also to the first two large rings when you get there. Once you reach the beginning again, tie your threads, cut, and weave in with the needle.
You can make something that uses several of these. You will join two of the large rings on one flat side to picots 6 and 7 on the previous octagon. That will make a nice, stable 4-picot join per side.
The Elusive Square
A square motif you can use for all your square needs.
Every set of patterns like this needs a square. Why one wasn’t originally included, I have no idea.
So I designed one.
This follows the same format as all the preceding patterns. The corner joins are a little more involved –– actually, they are the same joins as the corner pattern in the earlier post. All the rings follow the same small ring, large ring stitch count that you’ve seen before. This square contains no surprises.
I eliminated the central circle that the octagon used because it seemed like an extra step. Not to mention that it gives you two more threads to work in later, which you don’t really need.
Here’s how to tat it:
Make a large ring of 2 ds, picot, (1 1/2 ds, picot) 11 times, 2 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, leaving about 1/8 inch thread between rings.
Make a small ring of (3 ds, picot) three times, 3 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, leave a space of thread, and make a small ring of 3 ds, join to 11th picot of large ring, (3 ds, picot) twice, 3 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, leave a space, and make a large ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to last picot of first small ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) 10 times, 2 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, leave space, and make a small ring of 3 ds, join to last small ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, leave space, and make a small ring of 3 ds, join to 11th picot of last large ring, (3 ds, picot) twice, 3 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, leave space, and make a large ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to last picot of last small ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) 10 times, 2 ds, close ring.
Do not reverse work. Do not leave much space between the rings. Make a large ring of 2 ds, join to 12th picot of last ring, 1 1/2 ds, join to 11th picot of last ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) ten times, 2 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, leave space, and make a small ring of 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, join to middle picot of last small ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, leave space, and make a small ring of 3 ds, join to 11th picot of last large ring, (3 ds, picot) twice, 3 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, leave space, and make a large ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to last picot of small ring, 1 1/2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to 9th picot of last center large ring, 1 1/2 ds, join to 8th picot of last center large ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) seven times, 2 ds, close ring.
You are now nearly halfway around the square. Pick up at Step 6 and continue working around. When you reach the beginning of the square, the last small ring should join its first picot to the 11th picot of the last large ring, and its second picot to the middle picot of the small ring opposite it. Then the last large ring, which completes the fourth corner, should join its second picot to the last picot of the small ring next to it, and its 11th and 12th picots to picots 1 and 2 of the very first large ring.
You did it! Congratulations.
To join these squares together you will attach picots 6 and 7 of the outside large rings on one side of the square to the large rings on one side of the new square.
Did you try them?
If you make any of these designs, drop me a note in the comments. I’d love to see your tatting. And let me know… were these too easy? Too difficult? Tell me what you think.
Take one shuttle and two different size rings. Look what you can make!
Over the next two posts I’m going to talk about tatting design with two rings. Earlier this year I was browsing through some old magazines and my eyes fell on an intriguing set of one-shuttle patterns. I really liked one of them and I was heading out for the evening, so I snapped a photo of the instructions and the illustration and grabbed a shuttle I’d just filled with a watermelon variegated thread. You can see it in the next post. The color combination might be enough to awaken you without the benefit of coffee.
With everything I needed, I left for the evening. When I got to my destination (I was the designated kid driver for the night) I pulled out my shuttle, glanced at my phone, and started scrolling. The instructions in front of me said something like “Start with a small ring and then a large ring.” What small ring? What large ring? Aargh. There I was, stuck at a meeting with nothing to do because my instructions were insufficient.
Small ring + large ring = pattern
In the photo at the top you can see the small ring and the large ring. Although I realized all the patterns on this page looked similar, I neglected to notice that they were identical in construction. Every single pattern uses a combination of the small ring and the large ring. And one shuttle thread.
I love one-shuttle patterns because of their portability. It’s amazing how creative you can be with one string and very little else. (In the case of these patterns, if your shuttle doesn’t have a nice hook or sharp pick on the end you may need a crochet hook to pull the thread through the picots.)
The more I looked at these patterns the more entranced I was that the designer, in 1919 (whose name was Orene Clarkson), made all this with two rings. This set consists of a straight edging, a scalloped edging, an insertion or a double edging, and an octagon.
However, I noticed that a couple pieces were missing. There was no corner pattern, so I designed one. The set also contained no square, so I designed one of those, too.
One tatting shuttle with a hook or pick on the end
One small crochet hook (size 8 or smaller) if your shuttle has no hook
Thread. I used size 20 Lizbeth thread for all these samples.
A needle for working in thread ends, with an eye large enough for your thread.
Making the Large Ring
To make the large ring, you will tat a ring that includes 1 1/2 stitches between picots. The easiest way to do it is to make one ds (double stitch), make the first half of a double stitch, leave the space for your picot, and follow it with a full ds. Then make another first half ds before making your next picot. Without those extra half stitches the ring is too small and too tight.
Large ring:
Make a ring of 2 ds, picot, (1 1/2 ds, picot) 11 times, ending with 2 ds. Close ring. You should have 12 picots. Between each picot is 1 1/2 double stitches, with 2 ds at the beginning and the end of the ring.
Making the Small Ring
This one is easy. If you tat you’ve done it hundreds of times already.
Small ring:
Make a ring of 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring. You should have 3 picots, each separated by three double stitches.
The Small Edging
A large ring and a small one alternate in this simple edging.
This is easy, portable, and versatile. You can use it for almost anything.
Make a ring of 2 ds, picot, (1 1/2 ds, picot) 11 times, and then 2 ds. Close ring.
Leave a space of 3/8 inch between rings.
Make a small ring of 3 ds, join to 11th picot of large ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds. Close ring.
Leave a space as before.
A large ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to the last picot of the small ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) ten times, 2 ds, close ring.
Repeat from Step 2 for the length of the edging, alternating large and small rings.
But wait… what about the corner?
Sometimes when you make a tatted edging you need a corner. This article didn’t include any. So I designed a simple corner for this first edging.
Sometimes an edging needs a corner of its own.
Here’s how you do it:
Make the edging as usual, ending with a large ring.
When you get to the point that you want a corner, do not make the next small ring.
Instead, make another large ring. Join the picots 1 and 2 of the new ring to picots 11 and 12 of the old ring. So in tatting notation, the new ring instructions would look like this: 2 ds + 1 1/2 ds + (1 1/2 ds – ) 10x, 2 ds, Cl R. [+ means join and – means picot here.)
The Scalloped Edging
This scalloped edging is easy and good practice.
Once I started to make a length of this edging, it really grew on me. When I have some free time I’d like to design a corner for this pattern next.
To make this edging you are using the exact same rings you used before. You are even joining them in the same way. The only difference is that after almost every ring you are turning your work upside down so half the rings look right side up and the other half look upside down. It’s called reversing your work.
Start with a small ring of (3 ds, picot) 3 times, then 3ds, close ring.
Leave about 1/8 inch of thread and reverse your work (so the ring you just made is facing down in your hand instead of facing up.)
Make another small ring same as before. Reverse work again and leave another short length of thread.
Make a large ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to the last picot of the first small ring you made, (1 1/2 ds, picot) ten times, 2 ds, close ring.
Reverse work and leave another space of thread. You’ll leave a short space of thread between each ring you make.
Make another large ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to the last picot of the second small ring you made, (1 1/2 ds, picot) ten times, 2 ds, close ring.
Reverse work, make another small ring, joining the first picot to the 11th picot of the first large ring.
Reverse work, make another small ring, joining the first picot to the 11th picot of the first large ring.
Do not reverse your work this time. Make a large ring, joining the second picot of the large ring to the third picot of the last small ring you made.
Leave a space of thread, reverse work, and make another small ring. Do not join it to anything.
Repeat from Step 3.
Although this looks complicated, it has its own rhythm: small, small, large, large, small, small, large. Then you start over. If you take your finger you can trace the progression over the photo so you can see the rhythm of this pattern in action.
Next up
In the next post I’ll give you the patterns for an insertion, an octagon, and a square to match the pieces above.
Flowers blooming, birds singing – a sure sign of summer.
Not many poems exist that extol the glories of tatted lace. Well, actually, there might be more than you think. This tatting poem, A Summer Idyl, is one of… well… a few.
Usually I open these poetry selections with an outline of the author’s life and a link to other works if I can find them. This time, though, a lengthy search turned up nothing on the poet who wrote this tatting poem, A Summer Idyl. His name was Allan C. Stewart. And while his name may be lost to time, this poem can live on.
This is a nice poem to enjoy with your own shuttle, or crochet hook, or knitting needles in your lap. Or fix yourself a nice cool beverage, sit outdoors, and enjoy.
A Summer Idyl
by Allan C. Stewart
Swinging in a shaded hammock,
Watching Phyllis at her lace,
Life seems dowered with richest promise,
Filled with tenderness and grace.
Flowers are blooming, birds are singing,
Bowered in leafy tents of green,
I have eyes for naught but Phyllis,
Busy little household queen.
In and out her shuttle flashes,
While the dainty fabric grows
Like a dream of fairy weaving,
Smooth and lustrous, row on rows.
Chains and picots, rings and roses
One by one I see arrayed,
Fashioned by the slender fingers
Of this winsome, 'witching maid.
All intent upon her tatting,
Still she sits, demure and cool,
Never once her eyes are lifted––
Deep-fringed, like a woodland pool,
How I wish I knew her fancies...
Phyllis tilts her saucy face,
Saying sweetly, "I was thinking
My new thread makes lovely lace!"
As you can see, there’s a bit more going on here than a young lady at her tatting shuttle. We have to wonder if Phyllis is as enamored with her companion as her companion is with her? Don’t you wish you could continue to chapter two, and find out what happens when the autumn leaves fall?
I think many of us have been like Phyllis at one time or another, so wrapped in our current task that we focus on nothing else. I know I have! In fact, tatting thread in a new color takes me there almost every time.
If you enjoyed this poem, you may also like A Song of June. Do you know of any poems from the Teens through the Twenties that you’d like me to share? Drop me a comment and let me know.
Original illustration from Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, 1901.
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch is a cheerful body who gives her daughters geography names like Asia, Australia, and Europena. She lives in the Cabbage Patch, a run-down neighborhood near a railroad track in Louisville. Mrs. Wiggs lives with her five children in a house that’s the pride of the neighborhood because it has a real tin roof. Of course, one of the boys made it from flat tin cans, but it sure sounds nice when it rains!
The story of Mrs. Wiggs is a story of hope in the face of abject poverty. She is ever hopeful and most things turn out all right. She tends to see the world a bit through rose-colored glasses, however. Her memories of her deceased husband, for example, differ quite sharply from both her children’s memories and from reality.
It’s also a story of the progressive social movement of the late Nineteenth century. Mrs. Wiggs is befriended by a wealthy young woman who spends much of her time in the Cabbage Patch. Besides delivering food baskets, this young reformer gives encouragement and comfort at the same time that she learns a few things about herself.
Mrs. Wiggs is a story of class distinction –– if you read this book, expect to see outdated and offensive terminology more than twice. I think the story could stand as well without it, but I wasn’t writing the book through the lens of 1901. I’m looking at it more than 100 years later. And time changes things.
Upon its publication Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch was very popular. In fact, even though it was published in 1901, new copies were still being sold in 1926. The book was later republished in 1961 and sold as a children’s book by Whitman. What made Whitman think this was a children’s book, I have no idea. I first read Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch as a ten year old when someone gave me a used copy of that Whitman printing.
Read it for yourself
This book is more a novella than a novel. It takes only a couple hours to read. In fact, it was such a quick read that I sought out two separate copies to make sure they were complete. They are. You can read or download it at Project Gutenberg or you can download the book in PDF, text, or epub formats from the Library of Congress. Or, if you like, you can purchase a reprint from your favorite bookseller.
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch was written by a regional author, Alice Caldwell Hegen Rice. Born in Kentucky, she visited an area in Louisville that revealed to her the life of the underprivileged. That trip became the basis for her book.
Rice went on to publish several books. You can find ten of her works on Project Gutenberg if they interest you.
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch was made into four different movies as well as a stage play. Here’s a link to the 1919 silent version on Youtube. Normally a movie like this would have music with it. Perhaps a solo piano player or even a small group of musicians. However, this one is truly silent.
If Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch isn’t your thing, you might like The Harvester or Motor Maids School Days. All three take place in the same ten-year span or so, and they are all very different reads.
Explanatory articles in the Twenties tended to be extremely wordy. The embroidery lesson on cross stitch lasted for an entire page and a half of very small print. We don’t generally read that much at one time now. So today I bring you Cross Stitch Lesson, Part 2.
This information continues where we left off. Last time I talked about using cross stitch for even-weave fabrics, where you could count the thread each way to make your stitches. Today I’ll cover the rest of the article, which gives you two more options for cross stitch.
Like I’ve said before, most cross stitch these days is on fabric you can count. However, two more options exist. You can complete a stamped cross stitch, where the X’s are marked onto fabric and you stitch over them. Alternatively, for thick fabric or fabric you don’t want to mark, you can use a canvas like Penelope or some specifically designed to be stitched over.
To repeat from last time, one fixed rule is that however you decide to do cross stitch, your stitches must lie in the same direction for the entire piece. All the top threads of the crosses must slant the same way. This gives your work a pleasing texture. It looks more like tapestry this way.
Cross stitch on stamped fabric
In order to use a stamped cross stitch pattern, you either purchase an item already stamped or you iron or trace the X’s directly onto your fabric. Just like with counted thread cross stitch, you don’t tie any knots in your thread.
In the best stamped cross stitch patterns, they leave a tiny space between any two crosses. This keeps the design from running together, so you can see where one X ends and the next one begins. Unfortunately, not all stamped patterns are this nice. Over the years I’ve seen some absolutely horrific stamped embroidery patterns. And very few of them were vintage at the time.
Although the stitches face the wrong way for how we usually do cross stitch, take a look at the pattern. You can see that one X stops before the next one begins and there’s a tiny space. As you stitch you cover those spaces with the thread. In other words, your stitches touch one another –– all four legs of four different X’s will come out of the same hole. This is how you ensure that you cover the stamped design. It also makes your work look even and flawless.
Doing it this way fills the design properly and gives the appearance of work done on canvas, also known as needlepoint or tapestry. Each cross when you complete it forms a perfect square, as you can see above.
It is an excellent plan to work the first half of a line of stitches and then as you return, cross them with the second half, or top threads. This places a row of vertical stitches on the back side of your work and it looks quite neat. It also requires less thread than if you complete each X before moving to the next one. If you work from a kit, you may not have enough thread to make each stitch completely before starting the next.
Cross stitch over canvas
In the Twenties, if you wanted to do cross stitch over a fabric that you couldn’t count, and didn’t want to stamp, your option was Penelope canvas. Penelope canvas, named for the legendary wife of Odysseus in the Odyssey, is composed of two threads each direction. You cross stitch over the four threads that intersect to make a square.
Today we have an option called waste canvas. Much cheaper than Penelope canvas, it’s also easier to remove once the stitching is done. If you know anyone who has ever removed the strands of Penelope canvas with a pair of tweezers and a good deal of strength after completing a project, you will love waste canvas.
Waste canvas to the rescue
Waste canvas comes in various sizes, as does Penelope canvas, and you can find waste canvas on Amazon, as well as at your favorite local craft supplies store.
To use waste canvas, you cut a piece of canvas a little larger than your design. Count the meshes or spaces to make sure there are a few more than you find in your pattern. Baste the canvas evenly over the spot to be embroidered, using a light colored thread for light fabrics and a dark colored thread for dark fabrics and large stitches.
Work the design over the canvas, taking the stitches over the canvas threads and using them as your guide. Your needle will pass into the material beneath, and come up through the canvas ready for the next stitch.
When the embroidery is finished, remove the canvas one thread at a time. This leaves the design on the smooth linen, silk, denim, or whatever material you chose. Be careful not to catch the needle in the canvas as you work. Go over all the canvas threads rather than through them so that you can remove them when you’re finished.
This photo shows a cross stitch pattern worked over Penelope canvas. Waste canvas works the same way. The design is complete and the worker is removing the canvas threads one at a time.
Waste canvas project ideas
This is an easy way to place cross stitched logos or designs onto jackets, shirts, skirts, and other clothing where the material isn’t suitable for counted embroidery and you don’t want to iron a stamped pattern onto the fabric.
With the use of a symbol chart such as the sailboats from last lesson or the one below, a design may be transferred to any material.
A cross stitch flower pot for you to use.
Here’s the chart for the flower pot you see completed, above. By using this symbol chart, where each symbol designates a different color, this design can be transferred to any material. You may need to use canvas as a guide, you may not.
Use any colors you like. Suggestions: brown for the flower pot, green for the leaves, yellow for the flower with brown center and tan surrounding it. Use it once, or repeat it to make a border. Drop off the pot portion and you have a small, light, airy flower that would make a delightful border for a kitchen apron or towel. Keep the pot and this could decorate a bag, a coat, or a shirt.
I hope you enjoyed this cross stitch lesson, part 2. Next time we’ll use your new cross stitch skill to complete a full project –– a 1920s bag made from monk’s cloth and decorated with cross stitch.
All these were created by crocheting short rows, working back and forth.
Today I have something that I hope will intrigue some of you. When I posted the article on Five Great Vintage Crochet Edgings, I promised you this one, too. Today I bring you Edgings Crocheted Widthwise. Four of these date from the 1920s and one from the 1940s.
Why crochet using the narrow side?
Edgings Crocheted Widthwise? What does that even mean? Well, most of the time when you crochet an edging, you make a really long chain or you work a base row of single crochet onto an item and then build your edging upon that. These are the two ways you usually create an edging. But there’s another way.
Some edgings build from the narrow side, row by row. You start with a foundation of 20 stitches, a few more or a few less. Then you crochet one row at a time back and forth, back and forth on those few stitches until you have an inch of edging. Then two inches. Five inches. A foot. A yard. And so on.
This is how knitted edgings and many tatted edgings are made, and it’s a nice way to create an edging. Most knitted edgings historically start with a few stitches and work back and forth until you reach the length you need. Many tatted edgings start with one ring and work back and forth, back and forth, to make a yard or two of lace. You create the length that you need, and you’re finished.
Give one or more of these a try
Give one or more of these edgings a try. Some go faster than others. If you need speed, look for an edging that either uses shells in its construction or open squares, called filet. Those are generally the quickest to make.
On the other hand you can create an edging like this that’s as involved and deep as you like. I’ve seen patterns for edgings three or more inches deep using fine thread that you work widthwise rather than lengthwise. A crochet hook can turn out very elaborate edgings this way.
If your time is at a premium, the first three edgings go fairly quickly. The latter two took more time to create per inch of length. All these edgings are crocheted with size 10 Aunt Lydia’s crochet thread. However, the original instructions called for a much finer thread if they specified any thread at all. Make sure your thread and your hook size match so that the edgings are sturdy without being too tight. Size 10 thread = size 7 metal crochet hook. Size 80 thread = size 13 or 14 metal crochet hook.
You will need
For these edgings crocheted widthwise, you will need:
crochet thread (If you have no access to threads you can find many different sizes at The Tatting Corner.)
a corresponding size steel crochet hook
Remember, thick threads or yarns need bigger hooks than the narrow threads.
Edging 1
Edging one is a quick and easy filet pattern.
As you can see from the family photo at the top, this edging looks like leaves on an open background.
Make a chain of 17 stitches.
Make a double crochet (dc) stitch in the 8th stitch from the hook, then (chain 2, skip 2 chains below, and 1 dc in the next ch) 3 times. Turn. You now should have a row of four open squares.
Chain 5, dc over the next dc, chain 2, dc over the next dc, 6 dc.
Chain 5, skip 3 ch on your hook, and make 1 dc in the next 2 chains, then 10 dc in the next 10 stitches of the previous row, ch 2, skip 2, 1 dc.
Chain 5, dc over the next dc, chain 2, dc over the next dc, 6 dc.
Make a double crochet (dc) stitch in the 8th stitch from the hook, then (chain 2, skip 2 chains below, and 1 dc in the next ch) 3 times. Turn. You now should have a row of four open squares.
Repeat from Step 3.
This is an example of an easy filet edging. Once you get the hang of filet it’s relatively quick. It was extremely popular in the 1910s and 20s. As the use of netting as a needlework technique declined, filet crochet took its place.
Edging 2
An unusual modified filet crochet edging that ends on the diagonal when completed.
This edging is unusual because the pattern ends on the diagonal. Not many Twenties patterns looked like this.
Chain 20 stitches.
Make a double crochet (dc) in the 6th stitch from the hook, dc in each of the next 2 stitches, chain 2, skip 2 stitches, dc in next stitch, ch 2, skip 2 stitches, dc in next stitch, 6 dc. [Those empty squares are called spaces in filet crochet, and the filled squares are called blocks.]
Chain 3, then 6 dc in the next 6 dc of the previous row (you will skip the first stitch. The chain 3 counts as the first dc.), chain 2, skip 2, dc, chain 2, skip 2, dc, ch 2, 3 dc under the chain-3 at the beginning of the last row, chain 2, and then a treble stitch (tr) under the same chain as the 3 dc.
Chain 5, 3 dc under the 2-chain, chain 2, skip 2, dc, ch 2, skip 2, dc [2 spaces made], 6 dc.
Repeat from Step 3.
This is a two-row pattern that’s easy to memorize once you get the hang of it.
Edging 3
This pointed edge lace from the Twenties would look great on towels, aprons, or linens.
This edging consists of two easy-to-memorize rows, and it goes fairly quickly. The original instructions called for a size 60 thread and a metal crochet hook size 13, which would make it tiny.
Chain (ch) 11.
1 sc (single crochet) in the 2nd chain from hook, 1 dc (double crochet) in next three ch. Chain 2, skip 2, dc in next ch. Ch 2, skip 2, dc in next.
Turn, ch 5, dc in 2nd dc, ch 2 dc in next dc, ch 4, turn.
Repeat from Step 2.
Edging 4
A lacy edging from the Twenties, crocheted side to side.
This edging is a bit more complicated and requires some concentration to get into the flow of the stitches.
Chain (ch) 9, turn.
1 double crochet (dc) in 5th chain from hook, skip 2 ch, dc in next, ch 2, dc in same chain. Chain 3, sc in end of chain. This sets up the foundation row for the rest of the lace.
Turn, ch 1, in 3-chain loop make 2 sc, 2 ch, 2 sc, 2 ch, 2 sc, 2 ch, 1 sc. (This will be tight and you may need to stop and scrunch the stitches up to fit them all in.) Then chain 5, dc into the next 2-chain loop, and in the 5-chain loop at the end make 1 dc, 2 ch, 1 dc.
Turn, chain 5, 1 dc into 2-ch loop, in next 5-ch loop make 1 dc, 2 ch, 2 dc, 3 ch, 1 sc.
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for the length of the lace.
Edging 5
This Forties edging is a bit more complicated than the others.
This edging is made in two stages. In stage one you make the lace itself, and in stage two you come back across the length with a chain, picking up the top loops as you go. This creates a header chain for sewing the lace onto something else. Here you see the lace completed and the header chain half-done.
Chain 6.
In 6th chain (ch) from hook make 2 dc (double crochet) ch 2 and 2 dc (shell made). Ch 5, turn.
In 2-chain space of shell make a shell as before (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc), ch 9, sc (single crochet) in next turning loop.
In ch-9 loop make (2 sc, ch 3) 6 times; then 2 sc in the same loop. Ch 2, shell in space of next shell, chain 5, turn.
Shell in space of next shell, treble crochet in 2nd 3-chain picot. Chain 5, turn.
Shell in space of next shell, chain 5, turn.
Shell in space of next shell, chain 9, sc under previous treble-bar. Turn.
Repeat Steps 4 to 7 for desired length, ending with Step 4. Do not turn work when you’re finished, and work the heading by (sc in next ch-5 loop, ch 5) repeating this across to the beginning.
You choose the size
I hope this intrigues you enough to attempt edgings crocheted widthwise. These patterns lead to a very different edging look. Best of all, you can make these with any size thread and hook that you want. I did them all in size 10 thread because it makes the details easier to see. I wrote an article about making crochet in various sizes here. Check it out.
Enjoy a vintage Pineapple Marshmallow Sundae, South-Pole Sundae, or a Marshmallow Parfait this summer.
During the warmer months sometimes the weather gets really hot. Short of dumping ice water over your head, how do you stay cool? Before the advent of air conditioning, cold drinks, hand and electric fans, and ice creams helped to bring temperatures down. Not really, but it’s hard to be sad while you eat a nice bowl of ice cream. So today I’m going to talk about making ice creams, ices and sundaes –– straight from a Twenties source.
It’s relatively easy to make all sorts of fancy ice creams at home. You can go beyond bowls of plain chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and peach, which were the Ice Cream Standards of the 1920s. Instead of a plain bowl of ice cream, why not serve a sundae? Even the most fancy version starts with a base of vanilla ice cream and then adds syrups and whipped cream. In the Twenties a sundae might also be decorated with preserved, fresh, or candied fruit.
Ice creams and sundaes from your own kitchen
This article will tell you how to make a Pineapple Marshmallow Sundae, South-Pole Sundae, Marshmallow Parfait, Caramel Ice Cream, and a Cafe Frappe. It assumes you already know how to make basic vanilla and chocolate ice cream. I have a recipe for those somewhere that I will post a bit later in case you need it.
Ice cream was classified three ways when sundaes were new. A French ice cream was made with eggs. Today we often call that an ice cream custard and we make it with egg yolks only. A Philiadelphia ice cream was made with thick whipping cream. American ice cream was made with fresh or condensed milk with a little whole cream added. 100 years later we are still making French ice cream with eggs, but the American ice cream has replaced the condensed milk with half and half (light cream) or simply milk with a bit of cream. Even in the Twenties, commercial ice creams contained gelatin to help it maintain its consistency.
Other options for frozen desserts included water ices. We call them granitas, and sometimes they were called granites. In some recipes cream was frozen without stirring in an ice cream maker. This created a parfait or a mousse (have you ever had frozen chocolate mousse? 1000 calories of pure heaven!).
Suggestions for great results using your ice cream freezer
If you use an ice cream freezer that requires ice and salt, you might want to try kosher salt instead of rock salt and crushed ice instead of larger ice chunks. Actually, the instructions suggest that you pulverize your rock salt, but I don’t know anyone who wants to sit outside with a bag of rock salt and a hammer when you can get kosher salt instead.
Most ice cream maker instruction manuals tell you to pour in a layer of ice and then top it with a thin layer of salt, and repeat. Why not try mixing the ice and salt thoroughly in a large pan before putting it into the freezer? One part salt to three parts ice keeps it very cold. Add the ice and salt to the freezer before you add the ice cream mixture. If you add the mix to the container and then add the ice and salt, the mixture begins to freeze at the bottom before the top is cold. It then freezes unevenly.
Avoiding that grainy consistency
Have a problem with grainy ice cream? This often happens when the crank turns too rapidly at the beginning of the freezing cycle. Turn the crank slowly but keep up a steady motion. When the dasher starts to turn hard (and you’re beginning to get tired from all the turning) that’s when you beat hard and steady for one full minute.
Then remove the crossbar that holds the contraption together, remove the container lid and take out the dasher. (I always tried to find a small child who wanted a taste. The little ones are very willing to hold the dasher and try the ice cream for you while you attend to the rest of the procedure. Voilá! You no longer need to find a place to set the dasher.)
Pack the ice cream down, replace the lid on the canister, and plug the hole with a cork. Remove the icy, salty water from the pail and repack it with salt and ice to ripen the ice cream. This ice can be larger than crushed, and use about half the salt you used before. If the weather is very warm (assuming you are doing this outdoors because it creates a mess) you may have to redo the ice and salt before the ice cream is ripened.
Covering the ice cream freezer with an old blanket or a thick cloth helps to keep the cold in. If you get it wet before laying it over the freezer, it will help keep it that much colder. The original instructions said to keep the blanket wet with the brine from the ice cream freezer, but I can’t imagine what that level of salt water would do to old fibers in a blanket. Maybe this is where all the old quilts went.
And on to the cold treats!
Now that you have an idea of some of the forgotten advice on ice cream making, let’s make some warm weather goodies. Making ice cream and sundaes at home can be great fun. Like most Twenties recipes, some of these may sound a little odd at first. Give one or more of them a try and you can have your own Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social.
All of these recipes should serve from four to six.
Pineapple Marshmallow Sundae
You will need:
Vanilla ice cream
Marshmallow cream filling (like Fluff or Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Cream. Look for it at your grocery store.)
One slice of canned pineapple per person
Shredded coconut (packaged. Moist. Not dried coconut. Available in your baking aisle.)
Whipped cream
Juice from the canned pineapple
Instructions:
Half fill a sherbet glass with vanilla ice cream.
Top this with a dollop of marshmallow cream filling.
Press a slice of canned pineapple onto the marshmallow cream.
Top with a tablespoon or so of the soft shredded coconut.
Finish off with a topping of whipped cream.
Pour a little of the pineapple syrup over the top of the sundae.
South-Pole Sundae
You will need:
Vanilla ice cream
Real chocolate fudge. You don’t have to make it fresh for this; if you made chocolate fudge in the past couple days you can reheat it and pour it over the ice cream. Melt it enough to pour by placing it in a pan set in a larger pan of boiling water. It shouldn’t be very hot. A double boiler works, too. Or [Sh!! Don’t tell!] even a quick zap in the microwave.
Candied cherries or Maraschino cherries
Instructions:
Place a tablespoon of vanilla ice cream in the bottom of a glass. I would use a six or eight ounce glass Pyrex dessert dish.
On top of this pour a just a little of the soft chocolate fudge.
Heap the glass bowl with ice cream.
Give it a thin topping of fudge.
Decorate with candied cherries.
This tastes a little like the chocolate covered ice cream bars that were all the rage in 1922. The secret to this is to make the fudge layers thin, like a frosting.
Marshmallow Parfait
You will need:
1 cup whipping cream
2 Tbsp sugar or to taste
2 bananas
1 orange
1/4 lb marshmallows
2 Tbsp shredded pineapple
Candied cherries/ Maraschino cherries
Instructions:
Whip the cup of cream and sweeten with the sugar. Set into the freezer to chill while you make the rest of the dessert, or set on ice in a bowl.
Cut the bananas, orange, and marshmallows into small pieces. Stir in the pineapple.
Remove the cream from the ice or freezer. Beat the fruit lightly into the cream and fill tall glasses with the mixture.
Decorate with candied cherries or maraschino cherries.
If you find that you like this parfait, which is not actually frozen, you may also like this recipe for Fruited Cream. It’s similar.
Caramel Ice Cream
You will need:
1 cup brown sugar
4 cups half and half
4 cups whole/heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
Heat the brown sugar into a small frying pan and stir over medium heat until it melts and begins to smoke a little. You want it melted and hot enough that it tastes caramelized but not dark enough that it tastes burned.
Heat together the half and half (light cream) and cream, mix the liquid sugar with them and flavor with vanilla.
Remove the mixture from the fire and stir until it cools.
Strain the mixture to remove any large sugar particles.
Freeze in an ice cream freezer as usual.
The flavor of this ice cream is varied by the length of time the brown sugar is cooked. Be very careful –– hot melted sugar like this can cause dreadful burns.
Cafe Frappe
This is the original method of making a frappe, without the help of a blender. It’s more of an ice than an ice cream, since 3 of the five cups of liquid are water based.
You will need:
3 cups strong black coffee
2 cups cream
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Whipped cream for serving
Instructions:
Scald the cream and dissolve the sugar in it.
Set aside to cool.
Mix coffee with the sweetened cream. Add the vanilla.
Pour into an ice cream freezer and freeze slowly until it reaches a mushy consistency.
Serve in glasses with a spoon of whipped cream on top.
I hope you enjoyed these recipes for making ice creams and sundaes in your own kitchen.
Ah….. enjoying the great outdoors and meal at the same time!
Wide automobile ownership brought the great outdoors within reach of a whole new audience. Previously, people could go as far as the local streetcar, the interurban, or the train could take them. Or they could ride a horse if they had one. For short excursions a bicycle would work well. But nothing beat an auto when you wanted to plan a summer automobile picnic an hour or so away from home.
Taking off in your auto
The automobile picnic actually became a term on its own in magazine articles. With the extra space afforded by the car, owners could pack it to the windows and take practically every luxury with them when they headed out for their nature dinner.
When you think of supplies, you may want to use fabric shopping or tote bags instead of hampers if your car space is small. Bags can be hung from the clothing hooks or tucked into places that a large hamper will not go.
The prepared picnic addict kept a special shelf of supplies, plus more hidden away in the automobile trunk. If you wanted to pull a picnic together on short notice, you needed a few items on hand. Here is a bona fide Twenties picnic list that will help you plan your summer automobile picnic.
Supplies that make easy work of the picnic lunch
Wherever you store your seasonal things, you should have these available:
Paper plates
Tablecloth
Napkins
Cups
Doilies
Empty cracker boxes
Rolls of paraffin (waxed) paper
Strong market bags with handles (paper or burlap are good materials. Today I’d suggest a reusable fabric shopping bag. The Twenties picnicker would have loved such a light and useful item.)
Thermos bottle
Lemonade pail (a covered/lidded pitcher with ice makes a good, sanitary substitute.)
Picnic hamper
… And the shelf-stable food
These are the foods that should sit on a picnic shelf of your pantry so you can throw together a great vintage summer automobile picnic in a short amount of time:
Stuffed olives (or simply jarred olives. They really don’t need to be stuffed.)
Jellies (grape, strawberry, mango…whatever your family loves)
Grape and pineapple juice
Mixed pickles (these are different vegetables all pickled together like small onions, carrots, cauliflower, tiny peppers… and they often would be home canned in small 8-ounce jars for portability and cost. Check the Ball Blue Book if you want recipes (Amazon link; look for it wherever canning supplies are sold), or take a look at this Hot Pepper Mix of pickled vegetables from the Ball website to get an idea.
Pickled herring — sh! This is great on crackers as an appetizer. If you like pickled herring, that is.
Potted ham or chicken (This was an early solution for canned meats. Substitute a can or two of whatever meat you like canned. You can still buy potted meat. You may or may not like it. Think Spam.)
Canned soups
Boxed cookies
Boxed salted and plain crackers (This is calling for saltines and.. say.. an unsalted cracker like… do we still have those? I can’t think of any. If you know of an unsalted cracker on the market please let me know in the comments.)
Pimientos (This was the Twenties cook’s solution to adding color and nutrition of various meals. Roasted peppers in everything! They kept better this way than in the refrigerator and fresh.)
Canned salmon
Canned tuna
Prepared salad dressing
Sweet wafers (These are very thin cookies often used to decorate desserts. You may be able to find them in the grocery with the Italian cookies. Look on the top shelf. Pizzelles are a type of sweet wafer. If you happen to have an ice cream cone waffle iron, a small flat waffle cone makes a great wafer. I do, because gluten free ice cream cones are few and far between.)
Let’s not forget the refrigerator!
Lest you think that everything for your picnic needs to come off the longterm storage shelf, you will find a few items in your fridge to spice up your day:
Mayonnaise
Home-made salad dressings
Hard boiled eggs
Cold boiled potatoes
Green peppers
Celery
Fresh tomatoes
Young onions (we would call these spring onions or green onions or scallions.)
Lettuce
Lemons
Fresh fruit
Of course you won’t use all of this! This is your store from which you pull all the things you need for the ultimate picnic. Maybe you have a fresh loaf of bread on hand. You can make tuna sandwiches, or chicken salad sandwiches. You can have hard boiled eggs (transport them cold in the shell and let everyone peel their own), or you can make deviled eggs (transport them filled and facing each other, wrapped in plastic or waxed paper. Unwrap them, twist them apart and each person has two deviled eggs!)
Pull some fresh fruit, some cookies, and pack a drink and you’re done! See how easy this can be when you have supplies ready and on hand? Not every picnic needs to be fried chicken and corn on the cob.
Note: if you are fixing anything with mayonnaise, please keep it chilled in a cooler until it’s consumed. Warm mayo, while it probably won’t kill you, is less than tasty on a sandwich or in deviled eggs.
Add a Sweet Surprise
If you like, and you have the time and the equipment, you can make up two quarts of ice cream a bit ahead of time, pack the container in a cooler with ice, and tuck it into the car for after lunch or dinner. Even simple vanilla made with milk, half and half (light cream), sugar, and vanilla tastes heavenly when it’s fresh.
Traditionally, of course, this could be made in the kitchen sink: fill the sink with ice and enough kosher or rock salt to make it even colder, and place a metal bowl into the sink with your prepared ice cream mixture. You should have enough ice to make the bowl cold. Start stirring. Stir until you think your arm is going to fall off, and then stir some more. Switch arms. Hold the bowl steady and stir with your other hand. Every now and then you’ll need to scrape the stuff off the sides of the bowl so new unfrozen stuff can take its place. Is this easy or quick? Nope. But I hear it works if you have no other alternative.
Don’t forget the auto supplies!
Filling your car with picnic-ready equipment will ensure that you’re always ready for a trip. Consider these additions:
Canned heat, stand, and pan to fit on it. (I keep my canned heat on the pantry shelf because my car gets really hot in the summer. You may want to, as well.)
Charcoal, in case you find yourself at a park with usable grills.
Toy pail and shovel for each child, especially if you are going where there is sand. Or rocks. Or loose dirt. Or leaves.
Two tasty on-the-go meals
Here are two options for picnic meals, Twenties style. Each of them can be made largely from the ingredients made above, with some additional items that you’ll notice. Substitute wherever you like. Plan your summer automobile picnic to make yourself happy. This is your picnic.
A Fireless Meal
For those days when you can’t fire up the park grill, here’s a menu that you can pack and go:
Potato salad (using those cold boiled potatoes from the fridge)
Eggs stuffed with Ham (minced ham + a little mayo in a hard boiled egg white. Use the yolks, or not.)
Sliced fresh tomatoes
Nut bread sandwiches (nut bread sliced thin; two pieces held together with cream cheese or butter)
Lemonade
Cookies (fresh or from the shelf)
Sliced fruit in Raspberry Jelly (this is probably calling for sliced fruit in something like raspberry jell-o)
An Automobile Lunch
Hot Buillion from the Thermos Bottle
with Salted crackers
Sandwiches of cream cheese and maple sugar with graham bread (this is a sweet sandwich to balance the soup; graham bread is whole wheat bread.)
Vegetable salad (prepared fresh or steamed cold veggies with a little salad dressing to perk them up, whatever you have)
Sweet pickles
Chocolate cake
Iced Tea
Neither of these will take a huge amount of time to put together if you already have most of the ingredients. And they are substantial meals for on the go. Use these, or rely on favorite foods when you plan your summer automobile picnic this year.
If you’d like an option for more of a tea-party picnic than a traditional picnic, you might like my entry on creating a summer porch party. These recipes require a bit more care in packing but they are just as tasty.
Nearly two yards of tatted edging. Made with only 1 shuttle and thread.
When you learn a new craft, you have to start somewhere. Last time we talked about tatting, I gave you several options for learning online. If those worked for you, then you are ready to use a simple pattern or two. These easy vintage tatting patterns will get you started.
Most people start by making tatted edgings. For one thing, you don’t have to spend most of your time tying off rows like you would if you were making a round piece like a doily. And second, the more you do something, the better you get. Especially with muscle memory, which is a lot of the art of tatting. With an edging you make the same movements over and over until they become natural and almost automatic.
Easy tatted edgings can use only a shuttle thread to make rings, or they can use a shuttle thread and a ball thread to make simple rings and chains. The patterns I show here use only a shuttle thread.
All you need is a shuttle
Not only are these easy to make, these edgings are incredibly portable. If you have a full shuttle and a length of lace in your pocket, you always have something you can work on if you find yourself with a spare ten minutes here and there. Some of these laces I’ve carried for years in a metal container in my purse or simply in a pocket of my jacket.
If you need a shuttle or thread you can use for tatting, you can find an amazing selection of both at The Tatting Corner.
All these are tatted with only one shuttle thread.
Today I’ll tell you how to make all five of these easy vintage tatting patterns. Whether you want to start with the simplest one or everything from the middle point up looks easy-peasy and you’re ready for more challenge, I have an edging for you.
All of these edgings use only one shuttle thread. As you can see from the top photo, you can make these strips as long as you like. One of the nice things about tatting is that you can cut it. If you love making a particular edging, and end up making two yards of it as I did in the very top photo, don’t worry. Some day you’ll find a use for all of it or some of it.
Like I usually do, I’ll give you the instructions in order from easiest to most difficult. That way you can hop in wherever you like. None of these examples are washed, pressed, or starched. They appear just as they will coming off your shuttle. After you drag them out of your pocket or bag a few times they may even have a few wrinkles. That’s okay. Wet them down and lay them out when you’re finished with them. They’ll straighten right up.
The first two patterns came from a 1926 article on simple one-shuttle tatted edgings. They are simple and delightful and you might fall in love with them.
Ring, ring, ring
Edging 1 is the same ring over and over. In a fine thread it makes a beautiful edging for a doll dress or baby outfit. This example appears in a coarser size 10 thread. An edging this size could trim an apron, blouse or shirt, hat, or tea towel.
Edging 1
Make a ring of 6 double stitches (ds), picot, 6 ds, picot, 6 ds, picot, 6 ds, close ring. Leave a good space of 3/8 to 1/2 inch, and begin the next ring. The second ring is 6 ds, join to the last picot of the first ring, 6 ds, picot, 6 ds, picot, 6 ds, close ring.
Here are the same instructions as you might see them in a modern tatting book:
R 6 ds – 6 ds – 6 ds – 6 ds. Cl R. Leave 1/2″. R 6 ds + 6 ds – 6 ds – 6 ds. Cl R.
The – stands for picot, the + means join. R stands for ring, Cl means close.
Edging 2
Edging 2 is a very simple cloverleaf. Three rings made together, then a space. Then three more rings. It may take a few repeats to get your head around how the three lie next to each other to make the clover. At least, it did me.
Instructions:
Make a ring of 6 double stitches (ds), (picot, 6 ds) 3 times, close ring. [So spelled out this is 6 ds, p, 6 ds, p, 6 ds, p, 6 ds.]
Leave a very short space of thread, about 1/8 inch, and make a second ring of 6 ds, join to last p of preceding ring, 6 ds, picot, 6 ds, picot, 6 ds, close ring.
Leaving another very short length of thread, and make a third ring just like the last one.
Leave about 1 1/4 inches of thread, or enough to allow cloverleaves to lie flat. Make a ring of 6 ds, picot, 6 ds, join to middle picot of last ring, 6 ds, picot, 6 ds, close.
Continue with the second cloverleaf, beginning with step 2.
Repeat for the length desired.
In modern notation this would read: R 6ds – 6 ds – 6 ds – 6 ds, cl R. R 6 ds + 6 ds – 6 ds – 6 ds, cl R. R 6 ds + 6 ds – 6 ds – 6 ds, cl R. Then the second cloverleaf instructions would read: R 6 ds – 6 ds + to middle p last R, 6 ds – 6 ds, cl R. R 6 ds + 6 ds – 6 ds – 6 ds, cl R. R 6 ds + 6 ds – 6 ds – 6 ds, cl R.
Use whichever notation makes the most sense to you. They are the same.
Edging 3
This pattern dates from the late 1930s or 40s, and is a bit more difficult to do. It still uses only one thread on a shuttle, though. So if you can do the first two edgings you should be able to do this one too, with a little practice.
Unlike the prior two edgings, this one uses rings of two different sizes. I made the sample in size 10 thread but you can use whatever size you want. Ready?
Make a ring of 5 ds, picot, 2 ds, picot, 1 ds, picot, 1 ds, picot, 1 ds, picot, 1 ds, picot, 2 ds, picot, 5 ds, close ring.
Leave 1/2 inch of thread if you use size 10 thread, a bit less with smaller threads. Ring of 3 ds, join to last picot of previous ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
Leave the same amount of thread as before. Ring of 5 ds, join to last p of previous ring, 2 ds, picot, 1 ds, picot, 1 ds, picot, 1 ds, picot, 1 ds, picot, 2 ds, picot, 5 ds, close ring.
Repeat from step 2 to desired length, alternating large rings and small ones as shown.
Edging 4: The edging which must be named… always
I promised I’d give you an edging this time that is so popular that it has its own name. This one is called Hens and Chicks. The hens are the large rings in the middle, and the chicks the smaller rings which attach to each side. Together they make an attractive little scallop.
This edging appears in almost every beginning tatting book from 1900 on. Sometimes the rings are different sizes, but the idea is always the same: a row of rings on the top, with hens and chicks clinging to the bottom. This edging is fun to do. That’s why you see two yards of it in the top photo.
To make this edging you start along the top even edge.
Make a ring of 4 ds, picot, 4 ds, picot, 4 ds, picot, 4 ds, close ring. Another way to say this is to make a ring of 3 picots separated by 4 ds.
Reverse work. (If you haven’t see this before, it means to turn the ring you just completed upside down so that the shuttle thread faces up, ready to make a new ring.) Make a ring of 7 ds, p, 7 ds, close ring.
Reverse work. Now the first ring you made is on top again. Make a ring of 4 ds, join to last picot of previous ring, 4 ds, picot, 4 ds, picot, 4ds, close ring.
Reverse work. Make a ring of 7 ds, join to picot of small ring, 2 ds, picot, 2 ds, picot, 2 ds, picot, 2 ds, picot, 2 ds, picot, 2 ds, picot, 7 ds, close ring.
Reverse work (RW) and make a ring of 4 ds, join to last picot of previous ring, 4 ds, picot, 4 ds, picot, 4 ds, close ring.
RW. Make a ring of 7 ds, join to last picot of large ring, 7 ds, close ring.
Repeat from Step 1, joining the ring to the last ring as before.
Want to see this in modern notation? It looks more like this:
R 4 ds – 4 ds – 4 ds – 4 ds, cl r. RW. R 7 ds – 7 ds, cl r. RW. R 4 ds + 4 ds – 4 ds – 4 ds, cl r. RW. R 7 ds + 2 ds – 2 ds – 2 ds – 2 ds – 2 ds – 2 ds – 7 ds, cl r. RW. R 4 ds + 4 ds – 4 ds – 4 ds, cl r. RW. R 7 ds + 7 ds, cl r. Rep from beg.
Whew! See why the wordiness of step by step instructions gave way to the notation above? It saves space and after a little practice you can almost see the ring before you make it.
Edging 5
This is not exactly a beginner’s edging. However, I found it in a 1919 magazine so it is very vintage. We might even call it antique. I tatted this sample in size 20 Lizbeth thread instead of the size 10 threads I used for all the other samples.
However, this example is also made with only one shuttle and one thread. It’s not as complicated as it looks. The progression goes like this: large ring, small ring, small ring, large ring, large ring, small ring, small ring… and so on. After one big one it’s two small and then two big, and then back to two small.
Make a large ring of 2 ds, picot, (1 1/2 ds, picot) 11 times, 2 ds, close ring. You will have 12 picots total. Note: To make a 1 1/2 ds, make the first half of the ds stitch as you make the picot and then follow it with a full double stitch. For the last picot, make it with a full ds and then a second full ds to make your 2-ds count at the end of the ring. Or play around with it until you find a rhythm that works for you: you need a full ds and either the first half or second half of the stitch between each picot. How you do it is really up to you.
Reverse work (RW). Leave a space of thread about 1/8 inch, and then make a ring of 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
RW. Leave a short space. Ring of 3 ds, join to 11th picot of large ring, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, picot, 3 ds, close ring.
RW. Leave a short space. Ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to last picot of 3-picot ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) 10 times, 2 ds, close ring.
RW. Leave a short space. Ring of 2 ds, picot, 1 1/2 ds, join to last picot of 3-picot ring, (1 1/2 ds, picot) 10 times, 2 ds, close ring.
Repeat from Step 2, continuing to join to the last picot of the small rings and the 11th picot of the large rings.
Find your favorite
I hope that this small selection of one-shuttle edgings gives you at least one that you love and can turn to again and again when you want to trim something special or you simply want to keep your hands moving.
Play with these. Change the sizes of the rings. Add picots to make them more lacy. Try various sizes of threads. This photo shows what the rings look like when the stitch count changes.
You can see what a difference it makes to change from 3 ds between picots to 6 ds between picots. Don’t be afraid to try something new. It’s only thread. It won’t care if you cut off a length and toss it because you didn’t like the effect or you got a stitch count wrong after you closed a ring. You are still creating. And with these easy vintage tatting patterns that use only one shuttle, that’s what counts.
If you missed the intro to tatting post, you can find it here. Next time I’ll show you some simple edgings that use both rings and chains, drawn from vintage sources.
