Tatting for the 21st Century

I was reading Franklin Habit's February 26th post on his first foray into the art of tatting last Saturday morning when I remembered that I've been meaning to write about tatting for my own blog. This tatting post intention is actually of such long standing that I thought perhaps I already had written about tatting, but the search tool assures me I haven't.

Very well then. Tatting is about 200 years old, emerged as a way for women to make their own lace at a time when real lace was extremely expensive to purchase, and declined as commercially made lace became affordable. Georgia Seitz's amazingly thorough article on tatting in the 19th century will probably tell you all you want to know about tatting's history. There are three kinds of tatting: shuttle tatting, needle tatting (which is similar to shuttle tatting but looks slightly looser and thicker), and cro-tatting, which is a combination of crochet and tatting, employs a tatting needle with a crochet hook at the end, and is reportedly the hardest of the three to learn.

I first heard of tatting when I was little girl and my grandmother told me of it. She mused over the idea of teaching me but said she didn't know whether she "could learn me to tat or not." She wasn't sure she could remember how herself and she also didn't know whether she still had her tatting shuttle. So the tatting lessons never happened. The closest I got to tatting was when my mother complained bitterly of the "tats" in my very tangle-prone hair every morning before school. I instead learned the craft of English paper piecing from Grandma. Over the years I have often toyed with the idea of learning to tat in memory of my grandmother and because I always want to learn every craft going anyway. But whenever I've picked up a book on tatting I was put off by the fact that I had no use for any of the projects therein. I mean, that picture on the cover of the book above is one impressive piece of work, but what the hell would I do with it? The patterns in the books were always all about collars and lace trim, edgings for handkerchiefs and table linens, and doilies. And I don't particularly like lace. I do have tastes that are so retro they're anachronistic, but they run early to mid-twentieth century, and lace is Victorian. Unless you count knitted items that have lace patterning (I don't), I don't have a single lace-trimmed garment in my entire wardrobe unless you count my underthings (and no I don't make those). I use tissues, not handkerchiefs, and lace-trimmed table linens wouldn't suit my house, though I do dream of someday embroidering some. And who even uses doilies these days? My 75-year-old mother thinks they're hopelessly antiquated. But... my urge to learn to tat would not die. So when I researched this post I also tried to find justification for my acquisition of the skill. Surely someone somewhere was tatting things I would like to make.

I did searches and found the expected traditional collars, cuffs, lace-trimmed linens and handkerchiefs, then upon digging a little further some less traditional uses such as pasting pieces of tatting on cards for special anniversaries or using it artwork, seasonal decorations such as angels and baubles for the Christmas tree, which was more interesting but still wasn't the kind of stuff I'd want to make. These, which are by deviantArt user a asfina, are lovely, though.

I'm happy to say, I now have the excuse I wanted to learn to tat. The tatted jewelry I came across really got my attention. Deviant Art and Pinterest have loads of great examples of tatted jewelry. Necklaces and earrings and cuff bracelets are suitable for tatting, and there are even some fabulous masks for the goth/steampunk types. The necklace and earrings above are by deviantArt user asfina, whose blog is worth a look.

From asfina's blog. I wouldn't wear anything like this except on Halloween, but it's pretty awesome.

These earrings are by deviantArt user spinstermaiden.

This incredible necklace is all the reason I will ever need to learn to tat. It's from the blog Yarnplayer.

How fabulous is this one? I do a little beading, and I'll be learning to tat as an adjunct to that skill.

A tatted lace bookmark might make a good starter project. This one is the work of deviantArt user seandreea.





I'd say my first task is to pick out a tatting shuttle. I'm most drawn to shuttle tatting purely because I get to buy a lovely shuttle to work with. Shuttles are made from every possible material: wood, metal, bone, plastic. It's possible to buy antique shuttles, though when purchasing those you'll be competing with collectors who don't even know how to tat. The shuttles above are made from acrylic, brass, decoupaged, sterling silver, and carved wood. If your local craft stores don't have shuttles to your taste, try eBay or Etsy for an antique or hand-crafted shuttle. The decoupaged shuttles above are made by Etsy user La Cossette, and the acrylic and wooden shuttles by Grizzly Mountain Arts.






How does one learn to tat? YouTube has many instructional videos, such as the one above, which is first in a comprehensive series. There are plenty of other resources on the net, such as the British-based, international tatting organization Ring of Tatters, and Tatting Pattern Central, which has tutorials and tips for beginners as well as the patterns the name suggests. Do be prepared to be patient. Franklin Habit reports his first five-hour attempt at tatting resulted in a knot so small it would have disappeared up his nose if he'd inhaled deeply, and it's not like he's a stranger to crafting.

Old Men Knitting Sweaters

Check out the song "Old Men Knitting Sweaters", composed by vocalist and accordian player Willow Rutherford, with animation by Mariah Burton. The full 3:17 version of the song is available on Willow Rutherford's MySpace page.

Knitting for Penguins: A Cautionary Tale

Over the past several months a number of my friends and readers have flipped me links to stories about a call for hand-knitted sweaters for penguins who'd come into contact with a recent oil spill. The story also began cropping up in the Facebook newsfeed for this blog's Facebook page. I meant to look into the story further and then write about the matter, but never got around to it.

It turns out that my procrastination paid off (as procrastination sometimes does), because as it happens wildlife rescue workers don't use sweaters on oil-soaked penguins. Sweaters, even the cutest of them, would press the oil against the bird's skin, impair the evaporation of the aromatics emitted by the oil, and needlessly distress the wild animal. Rescue efforts instead rely on warm baths and heat lamps to clean, dry, and warm the birds. The pictures of the penguins in sweaters you've seen are posed photo ops. Oh, and there hasn't been a recent large oil spill.

The penguin sweaters sent by helpful knitters from around the world are actually being used as outfits for the toy stuffed penguins sold by the Phillip Island Penguin Foundation's gift shop, with the proceeds being used to fund their wildlife aid operations. The whole "penguins in sweaters" knitting drive story actually dates back to 2000 and has been through a few incarnations. Blogger Mike Dickison has the whole story on his site, Great Flightless Birds, and he winds up his article by offering tips on how organizers should manage a call for knitwear donations and make sure it doesn't wind up getting wildly out of hand as the "sweaters for penguins" drive has each of the three times it has arisen.

I am very relieved not to have played a part in disseminating false information about the penguin sweater matter either here or on Facebook. The first I posted about it was last Friday, when I shared Mike Dickison's post and an informative cartoon about the story on this blog's Facebook page. And I hope that if I had written about the penguin sweater story I would have researched it properly and found out the actual facts of the matter. The whole fiasco has led me to think about knitting for charity in general, and I'd like to set out some advice on how knitters can do so effectively.

First of all, I'd encourage any knitter who wishes to knit for charity to give the items he or she makes to local organizations. Unless you live somewhere extremely remote such as, say, Antarctica, there are sure to be a number of charities in your own community that will welcome your knitwear donations. Depending on what causes appeal to you, and what kind of items you want to make, you can knit for:

- Neonatal Intensive Care Units or Special Care Nurseries in your local hospital. Preemies require very tiny items that aren't all that easily found in stores.
- Christmas toy drives.
- Organizations created to help children in need. Toys, clothes, and blankies will all be welcome.
- First responders such as fire fighters, police and EMTs sometimes accept donations of small knitted dolls and toys to give to children to comfort and distract them from the stress and pain they are experiencing.
- Cancer treatment centres often take donations of knitted caps, which are given to patients undergoing chemo who have lost their hair.
- Knitting circles that make prosthetics for breast cancer survivors. Women who have had mastectomies sometimes much prefer a custom-knitted prosthetic rather than a very expensive, heavy, and ugly commercially made prosthetic.
- Homeless shelters. They usually have an endless need for hats, mittens, scarves, sweaters, and socks in winter.
- Women's shelters. They can use a variety of knitwear to help outfit the women and children who seek refuge with them.
- Group efforts to collect knitted squares to be assembled into blankets which are then sent to hospices, shelters, or anywhere there is need.
- Animal shelters and rescue operations are often happy to receive bird nests, blankets, toys, and other items for the animals in their care.

When you find an organization in your area that you wish to knit for, check their website or contact them to find out what their needs actually are. Some organizations may not be willing to take the knitted items at all, some may have more than enough such items coming in at present, and some may have specific requirements for any knitted items they receive, and you want to make sure you have reliable, up-to-date information about their needs and requirements before you donate. Learn from the mistake made by the members of a Women's Institute in Devonshire, who spent a year crafting a knitted village for sick children, only to find out that no children's hospital or hospice would take it because it couldn't be sterilized. The miniature village was eventually sent to a South African orphanage, but still... ooops.

You may wish to join an existing charitable knitting circle in your area that will give you information about what to knit and be responsible for passing the items along to the organization that will use them. Lion Brand actually has a special interface on their site that interested U.S. knitters and crocheters can use to search for an existing knitting charity in their location or even register their own new knitting charity if they wish.

If you wish to donate to an international organization, or even an organization that is farther away than you can conveniently get to, I'd urge you to do due diligence on the organization to make sure it's legitimate — and then to send a cheque. I know there's much more emotional satisfaction and a feeling of connection to be derived from hand knitting items to be given as is to those far away, but if you really want to help others, keep in mind that in most cases aid organizations can do far more good with whatever amount it cost you to ship your knitted item hundreds or thousands of miles than they can with the knitted item itself. Shipping handmade donations internationally isn't a cost-efficient way to help others. If you were a foreign aid worker, what would you rather receive in the mail: a hat and mittens to help keep a child warm, or the monetary equivalent that could be spent on medical supplies which could save three children's lives?

The one exception I can think of to this "knit locally, send money globally" rule is the D.O.V.E. Fund Bandage Brigade, which collects knitted leprosy bandages to take to countries where leprosy is still a problem. In that particular case, there is a specific need for the handmade bandages because they breathe better than commercially made bandages, and can be sterilized for re-use as commercially made bandages cannot be. So yes, in that particular instance, go ahead and knit the bandages and ship them.

If you feel you must answer some far off call for specific knitted items, do exercise some caution. The organization you are knitting for should have a web site of its own where they can manage the donations coming in. There should be contact information on this web site, and details about what items are needed, and where to send them. There should be updates on how many items they've had come in, on how they're using them, and how many items they still need. The Knitting for Nutrition project, that took place in February 2012 in Burkina Faso, Africa, did exactly this, got the 1076 pairs of baby booties they wanted for their project, and then announced that they weren't accepting any more booties for the time being. If an organization hasn't set up a simple, free blog to manage the knitwear donations they are receiving, it probably isn't sufficiently organized to receive the donations, and the whole call for knitwear may be a hoax, a misunderstanding, or outdated. The workers of this organization may in fact be buried under bales of knitted items that have been shipped to them from knitters all over the world, that are way in excess of what they can ever possibly use, and that they perhaps never even asked for.

In general, before you knit for others, do take the time to make sure your work is needed and welcome before you so generously and kindly donate the items you worked so hard on. Hand knitted items are a terrible thing to waste, especially when there is sure to be someone out there who is very much in need of them.

Knit Simple Spring 2014: A Review

Knit Simple has released the preview of their Spring 2014 issue. Let's have a look at it, shall we?

A mesh shrug. This is one of those patterns I have to give a qualified approval, because on the right person and with the right outfit, this could work. It sits well and has a certain minimalist style. And hey, if you finish it and don't like it on yourself, you can always use it as a tensor bandage.

I rather like this little jacket. It has good lines and looks like a handy item to have for cool spring and summer evenings.

Not a bad little short-sleeved cardi for wearing over pretty summer dresses.

This isn't a bad cowl, though I think I'd be making it for autumnal or winter wear.

Don't care for this top. It's the sleeves, which are bound to get all bunchy under the arms when they're not held up as this model's are. Sleeves should not be large enough to house both the arm and a medium-sized pet.

Clean-lined and simple little tee.

This shawl is quite eye-catching for something so simple. I like the way the two shades have been used here.





I can't understand why anyone would want to wear half gloves in the spring or summer. And I'm not even going to recommend that they be knitted for the next cold season, because this a pretty undistinguished collection of fingerless gloves. They run the gamut from too utilitarian to looking like they were made from old afghans to looking like they came from Michael Jackson's boudoir, although in the latter case at least the editors took the trouble to find complete pairs. The blue cabled pair at center left is probably the best of the lot.

Gorgeous lace shawl.

This is a lovely and interesting shawl.

This one might look fine if it were put back on the couch. Shawls should not look like afghans.

Shawls should also not look like Christmas tree skirts.

Delicately pretty.

This is a cute and rather stylish little shrug that would work over a lot of casual summer outfits.

The headband is kind of cute but I'm not thrilled with the fingerless gloves. Sticking bows on a lacklustre pattern doesn't turn it into a good or interesting design.

This is okay. Using a more interesting colour scheme would help. Not everything little girls wear has to be pink.

This is kind of cute, but again it's more my idea of winter wear.

Knit Simple likes to do these scarves with pocket on the ends and I've never understood why.

These cushions are supposed to look like bows. They don't look like bows. They look like they're wearing girdles and can't breathe.

What did I say above about putting bows randomly on lacklustre patterns?

More headbands. Knitted bows aren't a bad idea as hair accessories for little girls. You could also attach them to hair clips.

I see Knit Simple beat me to the "knitted bows attached to hair clips idea". I wouldn't use them this particular way — these look a little silly — but the idea has potential.

This afghan is rather pretty. The honeycomb shaped squares are something different.

Very much like this blanket, which is striking and graphic.

I don't care for this one, but I think it's because of the colour scheme, which strikes me as unpleasant. The design is actually very good.

Love the varying ripples in this one.

I've been seeing a number of puzzle-themed afghans and baby blankets lately. This isn't the best of the lot, but it's certainly workable.

Very effective and well-balanced use of stripes and blocks and solids.

Not crazy about this one. The colourway isn't very attractive and the diagonal stripe effect just seems to distort the afghan's shape visually.

Love this one, with its subtle gradient effect.