Tatting is a technique for handcrafting lace from a series of knots and loops. Tatting may have originally developed from netting and decorative ropework knots used by sailors and fishermen. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of half-hitch knots, called double stitches, over a core thread. Gaps can be left between the stitches to form picots, which are used for practical construction as well as decorative effect.
A tatting shuttle facilitates tatting by holding a length of wound thread and guiding it through loops to make the requisite knots. Historically, it was a metal or ivory pointed-oval shape less than 3 inches (76 mm) long, but shuttles come in a variety of shapes and materials. Shuttles often have a point or hook on one end to aid in the construction of the lace.
To make the lace, the tatter wraps the thread around one hand and manipulates the shuttle with the other hand. No tools other than the thread, the hands, and the shuttle are used, though a crochet hook may be necessary if the shuttle does not have a point or hook.
In German, tatting is usually known as "Schiffchenarbeit", which means "work of the little boat", referring to the boat-shaped shuttle. In Italian, tatting is called "chiacchierino", which means "chatty", referring to the clicking noise that the shuttle makes during tatting.
Let us appreciate this woman, Mrs. Seymour Fort, so devoted to this textile art that she was captured in the act in oils by an 18th century master of portraiture, John Singleton Copley.
Do we have any tatter's out there, channeling Mrs. Fort? Please share your work with us!
