Tatted Treasures by Jan Stawasz
Terrific news for tatters! Jan Stawasz's second book is finally released. This sequel to his "Tatting Theory and Patterns" was certainly worth the wait. Jan Stawasz is the premier tatting designer in Poland. Taught by a friend in 1992, Jan has been developing his tatting technique and design ever since. His designs have been published in Moje Robotki, Burda's "Anna", Igla i Nitka, Poradnik Domowy and the British Workbox, among others. Polish television broadcast his tatting course on air in 1995. The Polish Ministry of Culture and Art awarded him a scholarship in 1997 for his studies. He is also a co-author of the Polish Ministry of Labour and Social Policy's National Professional Qualifications Standard for "lacemaker."
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This new book is hardback, with full color photos and numbered diagrams, 103 pgs. His tatting is the most traditional style of tatting done today, I believe. I am much intrigued by the central motif of the example shown above. It is a swirly form much reminiscent of vintage crochet patterns. Jan's has used this motif for table decorations but also for a hat and a marvelous fashion vest! This book, too, contains an explanation of the most important point of Jan's Method (http://www.frywolitka.slupsk.pl/index_en.php?id=_jans_method), his placement of the picot in the middle of a double stitch between the first half stitch and the second half stitch. Most of today's tatting designers place the picot between the second half stitch and the first half stitch of the following double stitch.
To understand and tat his patterns we must be aware that the first dot (before a slash mark) indicates the first half stitch. The slash mark indicates a picot. A second dot (after a slash mark) calls for the second half stitch.
After nagging, er... encouraging him for over a year to hurry and finish up book 2, Jan and his publisher kindly sent me a copy for review.
