Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Off the Shuttle: Multicolored Tatted Handkerchief Edging


This is another edging that I started some time ago and finally pulled it out of the UFO box and finished it. Part of the fun and challenge of edging these vintage handkerchiefs is finding threads that coordinate or complement the hanky in some way. I love the colors in this particular thread, so it was a pleasant surprise to find a handkerchief in my stash that has floral embroidery with just about the same colors that are in the thread.

The thread is size 20 Flora made in Bulgaria (some Flora was also made in Hungary and Germany) in colorway #84. I don't believe this color is available any more...at least it's not showing up on the German Flora color cards on the Lacis website.


The design is taken from pattern  #14 in A Tatter's Workbook by A. Tatter (Lacis Publications, 2001, p. 7), but I've made some minor changes. In the pattern, the chains all end with 3 ds, but I used 5 ds instead. Also, the illustration in the book shows the rings on top and chains on the bottom,  but mine came out with a ring on top alternating with a ring on the bottom. There's apparently a turn in the work that I either left out or put in. This did make the sewing on a bit more fiddly, but I'm happy with the outcome. 

2 comments:

Madtatter80 said...

Oh these edgings just keep getting better and better I love how the color matched up perfectly :)

Carolyn Kotlas said...

It was totally coincidental! I just pawed through the hanky stash and found the right one. Usually, I pick out the hanky and then try to match the thread before starting to tat the edging.