29 April 2009

Ever heard of a 'double double' stitch?

Back in 1974 or 5 I bought Rhoda Auld's book "Tatting the Contemporary Art of Knotting with a Shuttle". I bought it for patterns, of course, as it was in the days of 'no tatting patterns'.

There are no patterns in the book BUT it's a mine of information and inspiration. I still take it out from time to time to just read for sheer enjoyment and whilst doing that the other day I came across the following paragraph.

I decided to play with this idea and found that it works well for chains too. I'll make up a technique page for it and maybe call it the 'double double' stitch (dds). Not that it really NEEDS a page as it's so simple and SO obvious!!!

This evening I'll play with it and show you what happens tomorrow. I was going to play yesterday evening but the latest project 'took over'!!!

14 comments:

Unknown said...

What!!! No photo! Surely you cannot simply tell us about it with no photo as did Rhoda Auld! Shame on you! ;) ;) ;)

Carol Schockling Lawecki said...

OOhh I can't wait to see the results!

battatter said...

ummm is it two first halves of a ds, and then two second halves? I don't quite understand the double part..?
Carol

Jane Eborall said...

That's it, Carol. Work round the thread twice instead of as you usually do (once) for each half of the double. So, you would go under, over, through, under, over through before transferring the knot and then on the second half do over, under through, over, under through before transferring the knot. I'll go and draw it up in a minute and add it to the post!!!

Suzanne said...

If I understood the quote from Rhoda Auld correctly, this is what Ruth Perry has been teaching and calling the 'Balanced Double Stitch'. It is extremely useful for long chains in which you do not want too much curve.

Jane Eborall said...

Ah, is that what Ruth's been doing. Never did get round to understading it - too wordy for me!!! To think I've had that book now for over 30 years and have only just picked up on that 1 short paragraph!! I'm just doing a technique page and have called it the double double stitch. Guess I may have to change it although that makes more sense to me!!! I only have a simple brain!

Tatman said...

double double stitch sounds good to me. Simple minds alike. :-D I suppose you could expand on it doing triple double stitch and so on. But then I think it would be getting closer to the rick rack or victorian style stitches in ring and chain form. Just a SIMPLE thought! Looking forward to your diagrams :)

Krystle said...

Hmmm I'm interested to see the results!

Ridgewoman said...

Like you, I have Auld's book..but have only really glanced through parts. I think double double sounds logical to me...if I were reading directions, I could 'get' that. I've never conquered contorting that one piece of chain into a celtic knot! As me design professors said, "K I S S" to his students..(keep it simple stupid!) Sometimes designers understand what they are saying but it's lost wihin all the words for the one trying to do the pattern. Gives me a headache...Which your instructions never do; it always makes perfect sense when I see your visuals and read the easy instructions.
X Bev

Sharren Morgan said...

Well done, Jane! Don't you love how things tend to come full circle! "Everything old is new again!" I'll bet it would work well also with the first half of the stitch the usual way and the second half as the second half dds.

Fox said...

I was so curious, I tatted this, and am baffled as to what would make it useful! It is solid, so it would be good as a long chain, as Suzanne has noted. I am really missing something here! Am eager to see you post on this!
Fox : )

Grace Tyler said...

As usual, it's Jane to the rescue. It took me a few tries to catch on, but as I am about to try a pattern using this element I make myself stick with it! I tat left handed, so it's often just a matter of waiting until my brain figures out how to reverse what everyone else is doing. :)

One thing useful about this technique--I tried it with 40 thread, and the chain looks more like 20 or 10 weight. It can give you more variety to the appearance of your motif. Also my pattern uses it for bat wings, long chains with the occasional ring or picot, so it is far more solid and not as curved, as observed earlier in the comments.

Margret said...

I've been using this technique for years, though I don't stick to just 2 first/second half stitches. It produces a sort of zigzag that's very nice for, say, rose leaves.

I do not, however, turn all the halves at once. Turn each half stitch as soon as you tat it, or you'll have trouble turning them.

Jane Eborall said...

I think you’re talking about the Victorian sets technique also known as zigzag tatting? The double double is also known as the balanced double stitch.

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