Needle Tatting

So once again My f.m.i.l was doing something cool that I liked the look of.......... Tatting!

In this case Gwen was using a Shuttle to tat, but had also been trying out Needle Tatting. I really liked the look of the finished items. They were so pretty and lady like, although this is also the same technique you would use to make the dreaded doily eeeek!

So after a few demonstrations, I thought I should invest in some Tatting Needles and Thread. Gwen recommended www.roseground.com for my needles and I got my thread from eBay you can get some pretty good deals on mixed colours.

The needles are pretty similar in look to a dolls needles, but the Tatting needles are a bit finer. They come in 4 sizes.
Tatting is another one of those crafts that you will want to skip basics and head straight for the amazing extravagant projects but once again I would strongly recommend following the steps.
Being that tatting is a little bit of a lost art, it can some times be hard to find easy to follow instructions or the types of items that you would like to wear or make. As they can some times be a little outdated or dare I say the D word again. Never the less after many hours searching I came across TotusMel on instructables.com. What a great find, she had really nice looking projects and they are pretty easy to follow once you have the basics down. Some of the instructions are available in video format on YouTube if you are a more practical visual learner like myself.

So the first thing I tatted was a flower pendant 

Flower Pendant Instructions by TotusMel

After about 10 of these little flowers, I thought I was ready for the more complicated necklace. Once again I do wish I had taken more photos of the process and wanting to pull my hair out when I kept getting it wrong. The hard work paid off and here is the finished product.

Tatted Necklace instructions By TotusMel 

 I was pretty pleased with the finished necklace, and I went on to make a purple one as a gift for a friends birthday. 

I actually wanted to learn to Tat so I could make my own wedding veil as I would love a Mantilla veil but they are just soooooo expensive and I just couldn't bring myself to pay £££££ for what is essentially a net curtain. 

I hope to do a bit more Needle tatting in the near future.