Just as one wouldn’t want to eat while working with the computer, one also must protect their tatting work by not eating while tatting. I might even go so far as to say to not drink while tatting. Of course, there are one or two exceptions to the rule.

Water is fine as long as your hands are completely dry and warm (not cold) when you begin to tat again. Wet hands will dampen your tatting thread as well as to cause the thread to slide through your fingers with less ease. This will adjust your tension; which will change the look of your tatting and make it uneven. If you are drinking another beverage, such as milk or coffee, these can affect your tatting or your finished product. Milk (and coffee-if it has sugar in it) can cause your product to stiffen in one spot or stain it. Even if drinking from a coffee mug, your chances are pretty good that one little drop can trickle down the glass and end up ruining your hard work.

Finger foods, and most beverages, have salt, oils, dyes, etc that will affect the look of your thread if you handle your project while eating or without washing your hands after eating.

If you are tatting ‘on the go’ and stop for lunch, you can always do a wash-up in the restroom before returning to your tatting. Or, if your really and literally ‘on the go’, stopping to pick up something to eat while on your way to where you plan to tat, you might want to invest into some pre-packaged moist toweletts. Many finger food-type fast food chains carry them for customer convenience. You can request a few of these and keep them in your car for a quick clean up.

So, the ultimate solution is the best and safest solution.
1. Do not eat or drink while tatting.
2. When you do take a break for eating or drinking, do it away from your craft area and always wash your hands with soap and water after eating.
3. Dry your hands thoroughly after drinking anything and for anything other than water, wash your hands with soap and water (drying thoroughly) before returning to your tatting. This may sound odd but sometimes, even as adults, we get a little messy and might quickly wipe an escaped drip of coffee with our hands and forget about it. If we ignore the dried coffee on our hands, return to our tatting work and maybe start sweating while we work, we will be transferring any sugar that might have been used in the java; as well as a possible small tint of the coffee beverage itself.
4. If you are carrying food/drink and your tatting at the same time, please take care so not allow your food/drink to spill onto your tatting.