Instructions for Needle Tatting

Needle tatting can be used to make jewelry, doilies and other lacy designs.

Needle tatting, also called felting, has been used to make lace for hundreds of years. A relatively simple craft, tatting uses a needle or shuttle to create intricate designs for jewelry, doilies, collars, handkerchiefs and more. For needle tatting, a long needle is used to bring threads together, interlocking them and creating a series of knots in a ring or semicircle. Since each ring is closed, tatting is one of the sturdiest forms of lace; it does not unravel easily. Beginning tatters must learn to make a double stitch, a picot, and a ring.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors
• Tatting thread or thin yarn
• Tatting needle

Instructions

1. Cut a length of thread 40 inches long. Thread the needle so that one end is 4 inches long and the other is 36 inches long. Hold the needle in your right hand. With your left hand, pick up the long thread, put it behind the needle, and hold it firmly with your three bottom fingers. Use your right index finger to hold the long thread against the needle.

2. Wrap the thread clockwise over the top of your left index finger. Slide the needle upward from the bottom of the finger to the top. Put the thread on the needle and then remove your index finger. Hold the stitch on the needle with your right index finger.

3. Wrap the thread counterclockwise behind your left index finger. Bend your index finger and slide the needle under the thread. Pull the thread down the needle to the first stitch and bring the two together snugly. This entire process is called a double stitch.

4. Make a total of five double stitches on the needle. Slide each stitch onto the needle, making it snug against the previous stitch.

5. To make a picot, begin making another double stitch, but do not slide the knot close to the first five stitches. Leave 1/2 inch of thread between the fifth and sixth double stitches. This space is called a picot. There are now five double stitches, one picot and one double stitch on the needle.

6. Add the following stitches onto the needle: four double stitches, one picot, five double stitches, one picot, five double stitches.

7. To make a ring, hold the needle with your right fingers. With your left thumb and index finger, slide the stitches toward the eye of the needle. Gently slide the stitches off the needle, making sure that you hold onto them firmly. Keep sliding them down the thread until a ring forms between your fingers. To make the ring smaller, pull the thread tighter -- but only pull the needle thread, not the short tail. The ring is now closed.

Tips & Warnings

• Use matching needle and thread sizes for best results.

• A small needle (#7) is best for sizes 70 and 80 tatting thread, sizes 20-60 crochet cotton, sizes 8 and 12 pearl cotton, and DMC metallic thread.

• A medium needle (#5-0) works well for sizes 10 and 20 crochet thread, sizes 5 and 8 pearl cotton, and bedspread weight threads.

• A large needle (#3-0) is suitable for size 5 DMC Cebelia, size 3 pearl cotton, and smaller sport weight yarns.

References

• "American Lace"; Michele C. Chase; 2004
• Handy Hands Tatting: First Steps in Needle Tatting