I’ve mentioned, a few times in the past, about my initial experiences with tatting. If you remember, I just found it difficult to get past the first ring. Of course, since forcing myself to learn to both needle and shuttle tat I’ve discovered more than one reason. But, we’re not going to go there.

Today, I want to discuss the next step after the ring. Keep in mind that you don’t need to start your design project with a ring. You might want to begin with a chain and that’s perfectly okay. After all, it’s your design. In today’s example, we’re going to assume that you’ve already worked up a ring. What to do next? Well, I’m going to tell you how to avoid twisted tatting, with the next step but, keep in mind that all rules seem to have an exception. In crocheting, a pattern for a round project may read, ‘complete in rounds unless told otherwise’. The rule would be to complete the pattern in rounds. The exceptions would be unless you’re told to do otherwise.

The rule for completing rings and chains is to do the first half of a square knot. In other words, you want to cross the thread over each other and draw the ‘crossed thread’-the one which is at the top most part of the crossed area through the circle that has been created. Pretty much like when you’re tying your shoes. That’s why I call this the shoelace trick.

What happens, when you do this, is that you now have your threads on the opposite sides of where they were. This sets your work up and places it in the position that’s needed to do your chain. This also helps to lock your stitches in place so that any pulling, which might occur, doesn’t leave bare thread at the beginning or end of your chain/ring. And your rings will not open once the stitches are locked in position with the half knot. Also, if you do not cross your threads after making the chain, once you pull your threads snug (which gives your chain that curved effect), your chain will be turned away from your ring. So, when you connect this concaved chain to the ring you’ve worked, and you attempt to turn the ring to the proper position, your tatting becomes twisted. I’ve found that no matter whether I’m using a needle or a shuttle, it’s beneficial to use this shoelace trick.

Keep in mind the exception…some patterns will specifically say, ‘Do not reverse work’. I hope this is another trick/idea that you can add your knowledge of tatting tips and help you to improve your tatting skills.