April 1 - Dancing Spring Flowers by Eliz

Copyright 2007 Eliz Davis








Editor's note: Eliz used ? and ?? as symbols to reference the notes at the bottom of the diagram NOT to imply a question.

This one uses a number of tips and techniques I've learned through the online classes--encapsulated ends, adding a ball thread without a knot, directionally tatted ring, shoe lace trick, and an SCMR.

Dancing Flowers
by Eliz Davis
March 2007

Size 10 variegated
Size 10 green

The blooms are all Rings of 2 (7p X 2) 2. By changing which picot connects them together, you can pull the blooms in closer or spread them out. If you plan ahead and make small joining picots on that first ring you'll be able to pull them in really close. Experiment and have lots of fun!

Begin with the variegated color on shuttle and ball. If making more than one you'll be able to start the first CTM, but a knot is not a problem. My instructions will assume you have a knot in your thread as you start.

Variegated:
R 2 (7p sep by 2) 2, cl, rw.
Ch 6 tatting over the ends for the length of this chain if you began with a knot) rw.
R 2+ (j to 6th p of prev r) 2 (6p sep by 2) 2, cl gently**

**Cut the variegated ball thread about an inch from your last chain and put the ball aside. Grab the end of the green ball and pull an inch or so of it through the last bloom and into the space where the ring closes (a trick I learned from Jane Eborall). Now pull that ring tightly closed as you usually would. You now have a variegated end and a green end hanging loose, a variegated shuttle thread, and a green ball. Keep a good grip on that ring until you get the chain started so that you don't loose that green tail.

Without reversing work, tat a green chain of 6, small p, 6, tatting over those loose ends for at least 4 ds, rw. (You can cut the remainder of those loose ends close to your work now or finish it up later. I like to go ahead and get them out of my way.)

Note: This last bloom will need to be tatted with directional tatting if you want all of the blooms to "face" the same direction. Just reverse the order of the stitch and keep the counts the same. Do the 2nd half, 1st half and count it as one stitch. You'll be doing 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, space for picot, 2nd, 1st, etc.)

Last bloom: R 2 (4p sep by 2) 2+ (j to 1st p of first r) 2 (2p sep by 2) 2, cl.

Without reversing work, use the Shoe Lace Trick to get the green thread to the top and tat a green ch 8 + (j to sm p on previous green ch), ch 6

Leaves:
Leaf #1: I form the first leaf with a mock ring, but if your green thread is on a shuttle you could do a 2nd shuttle ring here.
SCMR: 7, sm p, 1, lg p, 10, cl. Do not reverse work.

Leaf #2: Ch 12, lg p, 1, sm p, 7.

Wrap the chain back toward the stem to form a leaf shape. At the stem, take the ball thread behind the flower stem and bring the shuttle thread across the front so that when you continue to tat, the chain forming the leaf is caught between them. (You'll get a slightly different look depending upon whether you bring the shuttle to the front or take it to the back, so you might like to experiment a bit.)

Finish the stem with 4 ds. Knot the ends any way you wish and cut leaving tails at least an inch long. A square knot will leave the "legs" dancing apart.