A few months ago, I had to back track on my tatting because I'd made a mistake that was too far back to get to by undoing stitch by stitch. I was about to cut off everything beyond the mistake when I realised I could cut the rings off, cut the shuttle thread, but leave the chain thread intact. It was so obvious that I thought everyone must know that except me! But when I read
Martha's post about how she had a similar revelation, I thought it might be worth writing about. So here goes, step by step:
The second ring has too many picots.
Cut the last ring, taking care not to cut the chain.
Ring removed.
Slide the chain along at a picot to expose the core thread.
Put the hook under the core thread and pull so that it is removed from the middle of the chain and the chain unravels.
It'll look like this.
Repeat until the whole chain has unravelled. On a short chain, you can do it in one, but on a longer chain it's better to do it bit by bit.
Snip the next ring.
Continue until there is only one ring left that you want to undo.
Don't cut the final ring too close to the chain, because you want some thread to join to.
Now there is enough thread to join the new shuttle thread to and the ball thread remains intact.
Voila! There are only two ends to hide instead of four.
I "accidentally" fixed a mistake that way a long time ago. Ever since then, I've tried to remember what I did. Thanks for the tutorial!
ReplyDeleteOMG., this is exactly what I have been doing for decades, but never gave it a second thought ! Never thought this could be a Tip ;-P
ReplyDeleteSo glad you have documented this, Jane :-) Great pictorial.
And one can make spot changes in a project, too, by only adding shuttle thread, while ball/chain thread remains continuous....fewer ends to hide .
ReplyDeleteYes, it's not all about mistakes!
DeleteVery clear, thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI do what you do but I'm very 'parsimonious' and I undo the rings too if they're easy ones to pull undone!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds and all that! I just used this on the a Renulek. Figured it out by mistake a while ago.
ReplyDeleteYour tutorial Is excellent! Generous of you to share your time. : )
Some people do forget this, great idea to document it. I'm like Jane E, but sometimes it just doesn't work not to cut the rings.
ReplyDeleteYou are so smart!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, I will keep this in mind in the future!
ReplyDeleteNeat!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Very good pictures, I too repair this way and undo when I can :)
ReplyDeleteGreat tip, I hate hiding ends, but I'm like Jane E and undo the rings. I had to look up "parsimonious" and yes I am that too.
ReplyDelete:-) my problem is that I'm parsimonious with time and sometimes undoing lots of rings just takes too much time!
DeleteI am new to tatting and make lots of mistakes. I am better at undoing than doing! I have found that if you put the points of fine scissors into a ring and open the scissors gently you can open most rings easily.
ReplyDeleteReally? That's interesting, thanks, I'll try that. The thing is, even after you've opened the ring, you have to undo the stitches one by one. Fine if you see the mistake straight away, but can be tedious if it is far back in the work.
DeleteHi, I haven't noticed this scissor trick. I tried the jewelry pliers and it worked just fine. Thanks for the tip.
DeleteThank you for the tutorial; I needed that!
ReplyDelete