I have been curious about tatting, the art of creating lace by looping threads together with a tool called a shuttle, for some time now and as luck would have it, I was given the opportunity to review Tomoko Morimoto’s new book, “New Tatting: Modern Lace Motifs and Projects”
The book is simply gorgeous and all of the projects have a really fun and modern flair. With knowledge passed down from her mother (famous Japanese tatter Teiko Fujito,) Morimoto has taken the traditional craft in new and exciting directions.
It should be mentioned that tatting is difficult! However I found Morimoto’s directions to be clear and easy to follow. There are also plenty of photos and illustrations that do a great job explaining things that words cant: like how hold the shuttle and thread.
Following these instructions (and after a few unsuccessful attempts) I have successfully created a ring. I haven’t quite gotten the hang of using multiple picots, loops between the stitches, but I’m going to keep working at it.
When beginning tatting its important to note that the weight of thread you use dictates on how large the finished piece will be. I tried using DMC pearl cotton thread (as it is one of the larger weights) and found it very easy to work with.
In addition to fantastic instructions and a really great selection of projects the book gives the reader plenty of opportunities to customize their work through suggested design modifications. There are traditional doilies with a modern twist of a multicolored thread, but there are also more unique uses for the tatting like jewelry, makeup bags, and scarves.
This book is extremely detailed and the projects are gorgeous. I desperately want a brightly colored doily to display on my wall or a table runner, but I know I’m going to need to get more confident and practice with some smaller projects before I get too ambitious. I can see how tatting could be extremely relaxing once you get confident enough that you don’t need to look at instructions constantly.
Tatting definitely requires practice and a lot of patience, but “New Tatting: Modern Lace Motifs and Projects” is a really great resource if you want to take the time to learn.
New Tatting: Modern Lace Motifs and Projects is published by Interweave and available on Amazon
Please note: the links in this post are affiliate links.
My grandfather tatted while he was out hunting and just sitting & waiting. I’ve done thread crochet, but never tried the tatting myself
That’s so neat that your grandfather tatted, and what a funny place to do it while hunting! It seems like such a relaxing craft if you get good at it, but it’s just so hard for me to wrap my head around how to do it!
I’ve never had much luck with thread crochet. I work extremely tight when I crochet and it makes it really difficult to get my hook in.