I commented on Fox's blog that her Happy Heart by Frivole was a 'sweet little heart'. Hmmm, it didn't seem so sweet when I tried to tat it myself! With the pattern printed on one side of a page and Jane Eborall's instructions for the Catherine Wheel join on the other, I began. Lesson one: you can't fudge it. Unless the Catherine Wheel join is done correctly, the chain won't be smooth, which is the whole object of the exercise. The lilac heart is my first one. I decided that I would keep going and try to improve as I went along. Perhaps I did, but the overall result is a mess. So second heart involved much untatting. Once I got in such a tangle I had to cut the shuttle off, unpick the join and then rewind the bobbin! The chain is smoother, but there's something wrong with the shape of the heart. Not sure where I went wrong. The yellow one is my last effort. I almost ran out of thread on shuttle 1, which may be why the heart is slightly lopsided. More practice needed! Thanks to Frivole for the pattern, Jane for the Catherine Wheel instructions and Fox for inspiration!
I tried three times, also with Jane's instructions alongside the pattern! I thought I was making the join correctly, but couldn't have been, as the chains weren't smooth. I picked the best specimen to stick in a card for my daughter - her birthday is on Valentine's Day. She's not a tatter, and the little heart looked very nice anyway, so I left it at that!
ReplyDeleteNot easy, is it? I"m sure your daughter was happy with the card, and not looking for faults!
DeletePersonally I find I get a neater join with the lock join!!!! I don't like the CWJ!!!! Perhaps you need to add another double or two to each chain - just a thought?
ReplyDeleteI don't think the CW join will be a favourite of mine either, but I did want to try to get it right. Yeah, I did add a stitch to each chain, basically I didn't count the CWJ as a stitch, but perhaps I should try adding a couple more. I think I'll try the pattern with lock joins too.
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