How to Join on a New Thread When Needle Tatting
Tatting can create complex and beautiful lace patterns. One drawback is that the more complex and larger the piece is, the more thread it uses. This means that you'll need to join a new piece of thread to your piece, once the old one runs out or becomes too short to work with. There are several ways to achieve this, depending on your preference and tatting experience.
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Instructions
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The Simple Technique
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Leave enough old thread to re-thread your needle.
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Cut the rest of the old thread off and unthread the needle. Re-thread the needle with the new thread.
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Bring the needle, from the back, through your work to the joined spot, and tie the end to secure it, again leaving enough of a tail to re-thread the needle.
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Re-thread the needle, after the piece is finished, with the tails and bring them through your stitches to hide them.
The More Involved Technique
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Reverse your piece and twist the needle thread and ball thread around each other as if you were beginning to tie a shoe. This is called the shoe lace trick or SLT.
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Make a loop of the new thread with a 3-to-4 inch tail. Bring the loop of new thread through the back of the SLT.
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Bring the tail and remaining new thread through the top of the loop. Pull the loop tight and then tighten the SLT snugly against the existing stitches.
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Hide the old thread in a few double stitches and then cut the needle thread.
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Re-thread the needle with the new thread. Hide the tail of the new thread with a few double stitches.
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Tips & Warnings
If possible, join new threads at the end of a ring. This makes your knots and hidden tails less noticeable than if you join the thread in the middle of a chain.
