There are two joins used in simple shuttle and ball tatting which are made in different ways and both of which can confuse the beginner who may not understand why they are used in a particular situation.

The first thing to remember is that joins are made to two specific parts of the tatting; you can join to a picot or you can join to the base of a ring, at the point where the chains meet.

Let us consider the basic ring to ring join first with this traditional edging:-

1^st Ring
R 4 ds, 3 p sep by 4 ds, 4 ds, cl. R. Leave a space of approximately 3/8 - ½ inch (this can be measured with a slip of card cut ½ an inch wide if desired). The length of the space will vary according to the type of thread being used, but with Size 10 cotton it will be about ½ inch.

2^nd Ring
R 4 ds, J to last P of previous R, 4 ds, cl. R.

Repeat 2^nd Ring for length of edging.

The join is made by pulling a loop of the thread that is round the hand making the stitches through the picot to which the ring is to be joined. Then put the shuttle through the loop, being careful not to twist it, and draw up the loop firmly against the other stitches for the ring.

The problem is that many beginners do not know what to do next or how to count the join – should it be counted as part of the stitch count for the ring?
The answer lies in the total number of loops round the core thread running through the stitches. When we consider this it becomes clear that you should follow the tatted join by making the second half of the double stitch as normal, and count the join and half stitch as one stitch. This is then included in the stitch count, so that in this pattern you would make THREE more double stitches before the next picot.

It is almost never stated in patterns whether the designer counts a join as a separate stitch or like this, as part of the stitch count. It makes very little difference in the overall appearance of the tatting, but I learned this way of counting the join into the stitches from one of the early Coats leaflets teaching tatting and have found that it works well in most situations.

The next article in this series will consider the type of join described in most patterns as the Shuttle Thread Join.