Thérèse de Dillmont's "Tatting"

I have always been interested in the history of crafts and art. As a young teenager I was often seen at the library with my nose in books about dressmaking from earlier centuries and the like, so when I started to tat, of course I had to learn about the history of tatting aswell.

Several women have been great contributers to modern day tatting, and one of them, Thérèse de Dillmont, who is mostly known for her Encyclopedia of Needlework also wrote a wonderful little booklet, simply called Tatting, which I just managed to secure from the library of my local Art and Design Museum. :D

I really want to recommend it, not only because it's great fun to sit with a book from such an important author in your hands, but also because it has such sweet designs. I have especially fallen in love with some of her medaillons, one of which inspired me to an earring last night. I won't post a picture yet, since I'm not perfectly happy with it yet, but I think it will be good, when I have changed a couple of things to the design. At least I hope so.

Instead I will post another of Thérèse's work, an illustration (medaillon) from the Encyclopedia of Needlework. The pattern is described at the link above. It's quite different from the one from "Tatting", but it has the same beautiful emphasize on the center, which I really like. I've already used the center part of the pattern to create several beautiful small flowers, and I've started to think about how to make round 2 into a sunflower. It should be possible, but I'm not sure when I will have the time to test it.

And more...>.< (I do other stuff than various bags as well, you know)

My sister said she liked my tatting bag a lot (ofc. she has to say so - it's sort of an obligation when you present some hard work in front of people's noses, saying "ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL??!!! I SPEND AGES ON IT!" You can't really be polite and say "nah...it kinda sucks"). Anyway...I chose to believe her, and made a bigger one (about 30 cm. high) in her favorite colors for her birthday. I might add that my sewing machine broke a while ago, so I actually did it all by hand. Well, I didn't weave the fabric or spin the thread, but you get the point. :P



You can't really see much of the lining of this photo, but ofc. it's the same burgundy sort of color as the rest. I need to practice a bit more on making silk roses, but all in all I was quite happy with the final result.

The lace is a pretty standard trefoil one, but I find it very pretty.

More bags :D

Can you ever get enough bags? No, I don't think so. Bags are like shoes - no matter what your hubby says, there is always room for some extras. :D



The first bag I made because I wanted something else to carry my tatting around in that the plastic bag I was using at the time. I wanted it to be easy to carry and ofc. I wanted some lace on it. I thought of different designs but ended up with this very classical one, because I think it really shows the lace to it's advantage. I made the lining quite colorful, again to make the lace more visible. Sorry for my not so apt photo-skills. :-X

And a detail pic:

Cell Phone bag

Unfortunately I haven't been accustomed to take pics of the stuff I've made. I only have one picture of one of the early things I made, which was a cell phone bag for my sister. I don't have a picture of the finished piece, only a work in progress one. I used kinda thick thread for it to be durable. I used a pattern for an intersection, which I made in the length of the phone. Then I tatted a similar on to the first and so on, until I had 6 in total, assembled to a little bag. I lined the bag with some black 'silk'thingie, I got from some jewelry wrapping once, and it actually turned out quite nice.

So...I decided to make a blog, what now?

I started tatting about 2 years go. When I was 15 I inherited a shuttle from my grandmother, and ever since I've known that some day I would learn how to use it. Years went by and I tried all sorts of old crafts - embroidery, cross-stitches, nålebinding (aka knotless netting / knitting), spinning with a spindle, making felt, knitting, crochet and such. Finally, I thought it was time to pick up that shuttle and get started, and from the first moment I was hooked.

Since that moment, I have searched the internet for blogs and websites, the library for books and articles, and of course I've made various pieces along the way. As it seems like everyone, except me, have a blog these days, I thought I would get one as well. I'm sure the world will be a better place if I foist pictures and ramblings on random people that might pass by. :P