Tatting Collage

Traditionally used for doyleys and edging handkerchiefs or collars, there is much more that can be done with tatting with a bit of imagination. Tatting is basically a handmade lace, with each stitch composed of two half-hitch knots. The single thread is looped and knotted with the aid of a small shuttle, and people are often amazed that so simple a technique can produce such intricate results.

The appeal of the craft is that it is simple and portable; you can take your tatting equipment anywhere. Now that Tatting Collage is republished as a concealed spiral bound book, it will be easy to use 'on-the-go'. Tatting collage creates attractive designs by combining small motifs and gluing them down to card, paper, or fabric. This offers great fun and flexibility and avoids the need to handle large and complicated pieces of tatting—a bonus if you are pressed for time or are new to the craft and seeking encouragement.

Whatever your level of experience, Tatting Collage offers the chance to create something satisfying and unique in a short space of time.

It is not a book to teach how to tat. It assumes that readers will already be familiar with the basic techniques and includes a Further Reading list of books for beginners to learn basic stitches. However, it does include lots of useful tips throughout, a Tools and Techniques section, and a How to Use this Book section that explains how to follow the patterns and designs.

Includes some of the easiest tatting patterns possible through to more complex ones. There is instruction to make 65 patterns or motifs and 60 designs for everything from gift tags to bookmarks and cards to paperweights and door finger plates. The book encourages the reader to give free rein to the imagination and develop skills to create distinctive gifts and decorative pieces.

Author: Lindsay Rogers had been embroidering and tatting as a hobby since childhood until she joined the worldwide Ring of Tatters in 1987. Increasingly sought out by individuals and commercial concerns for help with design and technique, Lindsay was invited to teach in Japan where some of her work has been exhibited. She has lived in Invergarry in the Highlands of Scotland since the 1960s, and her designs are inspired by her love of the countryside.

Also available: Tatting Patterns 9781861082619