Tatting Pattern Calendar: March 31 - Bullion Stitch Cross by Ruth

A few weeks ago someone asked if anyone knew of a way to make tatting that looked like crochet bullion stitch. The idea intrigued me and I set out to try it. After a day of trial and error - mostly error... I came up with this little cross pattern that looks to me like crochet bullion stitch done in tatting. There is a mistake in this sample where a thread didn't get covered properly, can you find it?

I've sent the instructions to a couple of people to review and test. Since this something kind of new, please pardon my use of BS for bullion stitch. I don't think there is already an abreviation.

Two shuttles wound CTM with any size and color thread. This gold one is size 5 pearle cotton that I bought from Sue Hanson at Palmetto a couple years ago. I love the gold look to it. Thanks Sue!! The detail in two colors below is size 8 Pearle Cotton that I purchased at Unique Expressions in Kansas City MO.

Here is a detail photo so it is easy to see what is S1 and S2.

A note about copyright and techniques:

While techniques are not copyright-able (if that is a word), when people spend their time and effort developing patterns and techniques they do have a right to teach, publish, and share their ideas if they want to do so, on the internet or otherwise.

I am choosing to share this freely, however with some hesitation, due to the practice of gathering information from the internet to publish by people other than the designer. Legally if you tat your own samples, and take your own photos, and write your own instructions for a design using someone else's techniques it is not a "copyright violation" as such. And if you give a reference to the originator it's sort of OK, but NOT! You also need to include a reference to WHERE the technique is found so the originator can share insights with people who might wish to have some help with the technique.

But when people do that they rob the originators of the technique of their ability to correctly explain the technique, and share their designs because it is already "out there". If you choose to "steal" this technique, although it is NOT illegeal, it is still WRONG! The effect of doing so will be that everyone can thank (or blame) YOU for other people choosing to NOT freely share their techniques and designs on the internet or perhaps even in books. If you're not the originator of a technique or a design let the designer do the publishing and teaching. If two people come up with the same or similar techniques, which does happen, that is different.

Since I have given everyone some time to guess how I did this, or come up with instructions and no one has been able to do so, I'm quite certain that no one else already did this technique before. If you find it in an antique book, or someone else has already published a pattern using this technique I'll be happy to reference the work if you will let me know who, and where it is and the publication date.

I see this technique being used to tat veins in flower petals, leaves, and other things like fish fins, or what have you. Give credit to me as the originator of the technique, and let me know in advance of anything published using this technique as a matter of courtesy. In time it will all become part of tatting history, but for the next couple of years if you all want me (and others) to continue to share patterns... do the courteous thing because it is right to do so.

I will share this on the Online class http://georgiaseitz.com and also share some additional patterns after I return from Hector, Shuttlebirds, and Tat Camp.

Thank you for letting me borrow the soap box, Sue - the keeper of the tatting soap box on "Here be Tatters" group on Yahoo. You're doing a great job and I enjoy reading what everyone else is doing, as well as my other favorite groups including e-tatting and my own Celtic Tatting group.

Instructions:
2 shuttles CTM. work with s1, and s2 is used as the ball thread except where noted.

Ring 3 - 3 - 3 - 3
turn
Leave a small space for a mock picot then

Chain (3 + 5 - 1) This joins to the next picot of the center ring

Using s2 reach through same picot of the center ring and pull up a loop of s1 thread and pull s2 through it then adjust the length of the threads to the length of the ch5. See diagram below!

Using s1 reach around in between the chain 5ds and the three threads and with the hook on the shuttle pull a loop of s1 thread and insert s1 through the loop. Tighten the s1 thread so the bullion stitch lies close to the ring picot. Keep the thread tight and tat 4 more of the bullion stitches which brings you back out to the end of the arm of the cross next to the s2 thread. This is similar to doing a shuttle join, but you have to keep the thread taught so the stitches are even.
Tat with s1 shuttle and s2 as ball thread Chain 1 1/2 starting with the 2nd half of the ds.

Repeat two more bullion stitch chains, then chain 1 - 5 + join to the same picot of the ring.

One arm of the cross completed.

(It would look nice with beads on the picots that define the corners of each arm of the cross)

Chain 3 then join to the next picot of the ring and repeat previous instructions for the 2nd and 3rd arm of the cross. The 4th arm is the base of the cross, chain 8 instead of 5 and make 8 bullion stitches in the chain.

Bullion Stitch diagram:

How to tat the Bullion Stitch (BS)

This looks like crocheted bullion stitch, and is similar to Dora Young's Knot less method of tatting or what is now called bridging or split chain in where you end up, but not in how it is tatted. Of course, if you wanted to do repeated split chain tatting, that would probably work too, but it would have the "bumps" of the tatting stitches instead of the smoother look of the crocheted bullion stitches.