LESSON BOOK
--WITH--
ILLUSTRATIONS
Belding Bros. ∓ Company
MANUFACTURERS OF
Carlson Currier
FAST DYE
GRAND PRIZE TATTING SILK
SPECIAL HARD TWIST EACH SPOOL CONTAINS 125 YARDS PURE SILK
Abbreviations used: d s. double stitch; p, picot or purl; *, repeat from preceding *; r, ring; ch, chain;
l p, long picot; c l, clover leaf.
THE MATERIALS for making tatting are a strongly twisted Carlson Currier Pure Tatting Silk and a shuttle.
SHUTTLES. The tatting shuttle consists of two oval blades, pointed at both ends, and joined together in the middle. A good shuttle contributes materially to rapid and perfect
execution of the work, and attention should be paid in its selection. In filling the shuttle, be careful not to wind on too much silk at once, or the blades will spread open at the ends and the silk
become soiled by constant contact with the worker's hands.
FIRST POSITION OF THE HANDS (Fig. 1).
The construction of the knots or stitches appears at first sight to present great difficulties, but will be easily mastered by attention to the illustrations given. One thing to be constantly borne
in mind is that when the right hand has passed the shuttle through the loop, it must stop with a sudden jerk and hold the silk tightly extended until the left hand has drawn up the knot.
After filling the shuttle, take the end of the silk between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and the shuttle in the right, pass the silk over the third
and fourth fingers of the left hand, bring it back toward the thumb and cross the two silk threads under the fingers, as indicated in Fig. 1. Pass the silk that comes from the shuttle round the
little finger of the right hand, and give the shuttle the direction shown in the engraving.
SECOND AND THIRD POSITION OF THE HANDS (Figs. 2 and 3).
Make the shuttle pass between the first and third fingers, in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, and bring it out behind the loop. Here the first difficulties for beginners arise, and
until they have sufficiently mastered the movements of both hands we advise to pay careful attention to the following instructions. As soon as you have put the shuttle through the loop, place the
right hand on the table with the silk tightly extended, leaving the left hand perfectly passive.
Then, raising the third and fourth fingers of the left hand with the loop upon them, pull up the loop, stretching the silk tightly in so doing, by extending the fingers. By
this movement a knot is formed, the first part of the "double knot," or "double stitch," which is the most common one in tatting.
remember that the right hand must be kept perfectly still as long as the left is in motion, and that the knot must be formed of the loop
silk that is in the left hand.
The right hand, or shuttle silk, must always be free to run through the knots: if it were itself formed into knots it would not have the free play needed for loosening and
tightening the loop on the left hand, as required.
FOURTH POSITION OF THE HANDS (Fig. 4).
The second part of a knot is formed by the following movements:
Pass the shuttle, as in Fig. 4, from left to right, between the first and third fingers through the extended loop; the right hand seizes the shuttle in front of the empty loop and extends the silk;
the left hand pulls up this second part of the knot as it did the first. As it is necessary to thoroughly understand making this "double knot," it is well to practice on it until it can be made
rapidly.
