This antique collar has survived many decades and the tatting is as firm as ever. It is amazing that something which looks so delicate can be so sturdy. It was done in ecru and attached to a piece of cloth that looks to my inexpert eyes like a piece cut on the bias. Note the rust stain where someone has pinned it to a background paper. This should remind all of us to use rust proof pins in our lacemaking.

The pattern consists of two rows of one shuttle work followed by several rows of ring and chain repeat. It is very important in a piece such as this that the picots be regular in size. The finishing row of picots in particular should be done using the picot gauge. A picot gauge is the perfect tool for the job. It is a measuring device used while tatting to insure picots of an exact size, graduated in size as an additional design element, or of a certain length for the purposes of construction, i.e., joining. The picot gauge is held in either of two ways; vertically, at a right angle to the line of progession, or horizontally, parallel to the line of progression while the tatting is accomplished.