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This page is about a form of lace making

Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace constructed by a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, and other decorative pieces. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of lark's head (or half-hitch) knots, called double stitches (ds), 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.

Tatting dates to the early 19th century.

Contents 1 Technique and materials 1.1 Shuttle tatting 1.2 Needle tatting 1.3 Materials 2 Patterns 3 History 4 References 5 External links

Tatting with a shuttle is the earliest and still the most popular method of creating tatted lace. A tatting shuttle facilitates tatting by guiding thread through loops to make the requisite knots. It is normally a metal or plastic pointed oval shape less than 3 inches 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. Antique shuttles and unique shuttles have become highly sought after by collectors — even those who do not tat.

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.

Tatting may be simulated using a needle instead of a shuttle. This method originated in the early twentieth century, but did not become popular until much later. A tatting needle is a long needle that does not change thickness at the eye of the needle. The needle used must match the thickness of the thread chosen for the project. Shuttle and needle-tatted lace look similar, but they differ in structure. Shuttle tatting is tighter and finer, while needle tatting can appear thick and loose. This is due to the fact that both the needle and the thread must pass through the stitches. Needle tatting is more appropriate for work with yarns and bulky threads, while shuttle tatting is better suited to finer and more traditional lacemaking.

Older designs, especially through the early 1900s, tend to use fine white or ivory thread (50 to 100 widths to the inch) and intricate designs. Newer designs from the 1920s and onward often use thicker thread in one or more colors. The best thread for tatting is a "hard" thread that does not untwist readily. DMC Cordonnet thread is a common tatting thread; Perl cotton is an example of a beautiful cord that is nonetheless a bit loose for tatting purposes. Some tatting designs incorporate ribbons and beads.

Older patterns use a long hand notation to describe the stitches needed while newer patterns tend to make extensive use of abbreviations and an almost mathematical looking notation. The following examples describe the same small piece of tatting (the first Ring in the Hen and Chicks pattern)

Ring five ds, three picots separated by five ds, five ds, close, turn, space

R 5ds, 3 p sep by 5ds, 5ds, cl, turn, sp

R 5-5-5-5 cl rw sp

Some tatters prefer a visual pattern where the design is drawn schematically with annotations indicating the number of ds and order of construction. This can either be used on its own or alongside a written pattern.

Tatting instructions and patterns can be found all over the web, including some streamlined video instructions.

Some believe that tatting may have developed from netting and decorative ropework as sailors and fishers would put together motifs for girlfriends and wives at home. Decorative ropework employed on ships includes techniques (esp. Cockscombing) that show striking similarity with tatting. A good description of this can be found in Knots, Splices and Fancywork.

Some believe tatting originated over 200 years ago, often citing shuttles seen in eighteenth century paintings of women such as Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Madame Adelaide (daughter of Louis XV of France), and Anne, Countess of Albemarle. A close inspection of those paintings shows that the shuttles in question are too large to be tatting shuttles, and that they are actually knotting shuttles. There is no documentation, nor any examples of tatted lace, that date prior to 1800. All of the available evidence shows that tatting originated in the early 19th century.

In 1995 two mailing lists devoted to tatting were started, being TatChat and eTatters. The majority of members had been taught by grandparents or were self-taught. The two groups worked together to promote the art of tatting and as a result the craft has seen a resurgence in interest around the world in recent years.^{[citation needed]}

Contrary to popular belief, many people around the world actively participate in the art of tatting.

• Spencer, Charles Louis (1935). Knots, splices and fancy work. Kennedy Bros; 2nd edition. 

• Beeton's Book of Needlework, by Isabella Beeton at Project Gutenberg
• eTatters eTatters Online Tatting Guild
• Tatting Instructions and Patterns
• Tatting Patterns
• Shuttle Tatting Instructions by Carrie
• ThisNTat.com
• Georgia Seitz
• Jen's Tat-ra Sutra
• Jan Stawasz
• Tatting Demo Video 1 Demo Video 2 Demo Video 3

Lace types
Needle:	Punto in Aria | Point de Venise | Point de France | Alençon | Argentan | Argentella | Hollie Point | Point de Gaze | Youghal | Limerick Embroidered: Reticella | Buratto | Filet/Lacis | Tambour | Teneriffe | Needlerun Net Cut Work: Broderie Anglaise | Carrickmacross
Bobbin:	Ancient: Antwerp | Pottenkant | Ecclesiastical | Freehand | Torchon Continental: Binche | Flanders | Mechlin | Paris | Valenciennes Point ground: Bayeux | Blonde | Bucks point | Chantilly | Tønder | Beveren | Lille Guipure: Genoese | Venetian | Bedfordshire | Cluny | Maltese Part laces: Honiton | Brugges | Brussels Tape: Milanese | Flemish | Russian | Peasant
Tape:	Mezzopunto | Princess | Renaissance | Romanian point
Knotted:	Macramé | Tatting | Armenian
Crocheted:	Irish crochet | Hairpin | Filet crochet
Knitted:	Shetland | Estonian | Icelandic | Danish | German
Machine-made:	Warp Knit | Leavers | Pusher | Barmen | Curtain Machine | Chemical Hand Finished: Hand-run Gimps