Hey y’all, welcome to my DIY Needle Tatting (Easy Tutorial) post. You may be wondering what tatting is, tatting is a form of lace making with rings and chains made out of knots and loops. With tatting you can make dollies, shawls, lace edgings, and more.
Tatting has been around for centuries, some people even said that tatting can be traced all the way back to ancient Egypt, I don’t know about that, but I do know that tatting is a very enjoyable craft. And it was very popular in Victorian times.
There is shuttle tatting and needle tatting, in this post I’m going to show you how to do basic needle tatting. To me needle tatting is the easier of the two to do, which makes it good for beginners. In shuttle tatting you use a tatting shuttle and any size of crochet thread. With needle tatting you have to use different size tatting needles with the right size of crochet thread, for example in this tutorial I’m going to use size 10 crochet thread and a size 5 tatting needle.
Tatting is made with one simple stitch called the double stitch. Tatting also has what is called a picot, a picot is simply a loop made in between the double stitches. With those two things you make a series of rings and chains to make the lace.
When reading a tatting pattern the symbol for the double stitch is “ds” and the picots is simply a “p”. Picots are used to connect the rings and chains in tatting.
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What you need for needle tatting
Now that you have a little understanding of what tatting is, your next question is probably what do I need for needle tatting. Here is what I am going to use in this tutorial.
- Size 5 Tatting needle, Here is what needles I like to use.
- Crochet thread size 10.
That’s it, all you need to get started needle tatting is just a tatting needle and crochet thread.
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Making a double stitch
I’m going to show how to make the double stitch to get started in needle tatting .
Step 1: Thread the needle, one of the things I like about the handy hands needles is because they come with a needle threader.
Step 2: Hold the thread coming from ball of thread up against the needle.
Step 3: Wrap the thread about your index finger clock-wise and hold your finger pointed up.
Step 4: Slide the needle under the thread going up toward the tip of your finger.
Step 5: Now that the needle is under the thread remove your finger from the thread and tighten the loop on the needle. That is the first half of the double stitch.
Step 6: For the other half of the stitch simply wrap the thread around your finger counter clock-wise and bend your finger.
Step 7: Slide the needle under the thread going toward your finger tip.
Step 8: Take the thread off the your finger and tighten the loop on the needle up against the other half of the stitch. That is how you make a complete double stitch, that is the only stitch in tatting.
How to make a picot
Step 1: To make a picot, make the first half of the double stitch and hold it about a 1/4″ away from the other stitches.
Step 2: Make the other half of the double stitch and slide the stitch over to the other stitches.
That is how you make a picot, I will show you how to use a picot to connect rings and chains somewhere below in this tutorial.
Rings
In tatting patterns the symbol for a ring is “R” and a pattern reads something like this “R 6 – 6 – 6” the numbers mean how many double stitches and – is a picot. So, writing that out longer would be “Ring, 6 double stitches, picot, 6 double stitches, picot, 6 double stitches. And this is just an example pattern because tatting patterns have different numbers of double stitches and picots on the rings and chains. And in the steps below I’m going to show you how to tat a ring.
Step 1: Following the ring pattern above make 6 double stitches, picot, 6 double stitches, picot, 6 double stitches on the needle.
Step 2: Slide the stitches off the needle pulling the threaded end through the stitches.
Step 3: Pull the thread through the stitches. When you have pulled the thread almost all the way through, take the needle and go through the little loop of thread and tighten all the way. Then flip the ring over and tie a knot. I am more of a shuttle tatter so I forget tie a knot so I didn’t take a picture. But when you turn the ring over sideways the threads cross so you take your needle and go through that loop and when you tighten it that’s your knot.
That is how you make a ring in needle tatting.
Chains
Chains written in tatting patterns are almost the same as rings, but instead of “R” it is “Ch”.
Step 1: Holding the finished ring up against the needle like the picture below. Follow this pattern “Ch 6 – 6”. (but, remember the number is how many double stitches and – is a picot.)
Step 2: Pull the thread through the stitches like you did the ring, but only this time tighten all the way and don’t go through the loop. But, you will still tie a knot at the end of the chain.
And that’s how you make a chain in needle tatting. Rings and chains are the only things in tatting. Next I’m going to show you how to connect the rings and chains.
Connecting the rings and chains
I’m going to connect two rings.
Step 1: Holding a finished chain up against the needle make 6 double stitches.
Step 2: Take the needle and go through the picot on the side of the finished ring.
Step 3: With the picot against the 6 stitches finish the ring and close it.
There you have it, you have learned the basics of needle tatting. You have learned how to make the double stitch and picot. And how to use those to make rings and chains.
So, I hope you have enjoyed my tutorial and that you will love tatting. But, just remember that practice makes perfect so. Because if your tatting looks wonky you’ll get better as you go along.
