Fussing with stitch count

 Normally, I dislike patterns I need to fuss with to make it work for my tatting style. That’s probably why I don’t tat more vintage patterns. I figure if a designer puts down a ring of 8 DS, I shouldn’t need to tat only 7 DS to make the final piece lay flat or look right. I understand that I tat tighter than many tatters. So, when I come across a pattern that doesn’t work with the published stitch count, I assume (yes, I know a dangerous stance) that something isn’t right.

I came across a pattern in a book of crosses that I’ve wanted to explore for some time. The end points of each arm/leg/top are split rings. Easy enough, right? Well, the pattern as published has those split rings with 8 DS on each side. One side has 3 picots, so if you do picots the Jan Stawasz way, that changes how many times the thread wraps around the core. I tried the pattern both ways. It was no go. I used a different tension. No go. I even tried using a different brand of thread that is just ever so less a diameter. No go. I finally just changed the stitch count.

Why should this matter so much?

Because my design style depends on stitch count. There are some pieces I design with stitch count driven by the music structure. Well, I learned something very valuable with this pattern:

If I need stitch count to matter, I should steer clear of certain elements.

When an idea won't go away

Several years ago, I saw an idea for color use in tatted motifs.  The idea has really stuck in my mind. Just about every time I see windows where I practice. I have a collection of sketches. I have the thread. I finally started work on the idea. It didn’t go well. I needed to better understand stitch count and other design issues. So, over the (ahem) 6 years since this idea really started to gel, I’ve been taking a stab at it.

I’ve perused monster doily patterns hoping to learn about design parameters that work. I’ve photographed (poorly) many stained glass windows. I’ve studied color use in needlework. I’m getting closer, but still not very far.

Window Decoration II designed by Jan Stawasz

In an attempt to kick start the process, I loaded shuttles and worked a Window Decoration pattern from Jan Stawasz book Tatting Theory andPatterns. I feel I did justice to the pattern. Yet again, the black thread was thinner than the colors. That caused a bit of cupping and such. Normally, I wouldn’t like that in tatting, but for stained glass, I like that the black appears so different.

I must leave this idea now. It will be entered into my list of 25 Motifs for the challenge. Now it's time to focus on upcoming deadlines.