Editing Tatting (section)

==Technique and materials==

===Shuttle tatting===
[[Image:Tattingshuttles.jpg|thumbnail|250px|right|Vintage tatting shuttles from the early twentieth century]]
[[File:Nuperelle-skyttel med nupereller.JPG|thumbnail|250px|right|Newer type of shuttle with hook]]
Tatting with a shuttle is the earliest method of creating tatted lace. A tatting ''shuttle'' facilitates tatting by holding a length of wound [[yarn|thread]] and guiding it through loops to make the requisite knots.  Historically, it was a metal or ivory pointed-oval shape less than {{convert|3|in|mm}} 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 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.

===Needle tatting===
[[Image:Needle tatting.jpg|thumb|250px|Needle tatting in progress. A completed closed ring of 5ds segments with a picot loop between each is shown.  Another uncompleted loop is still on the needle.]]
[[Image:Tatting Pin - Project Gutenberg eText 15147.jpg|thumbnail|250px|right|Tatting pin]]
Traditional shuttle tatting may be simulated using a tatting needle or doll needle instead of a shuttle. There are two basic techniques for needle tatting.  With the more widely disseminated technique, a double thread passes through the stitches.{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}} The result is similar to shuttle tatting but is slightly thicker and looser.{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}} The second technique more closely approximates shuttle tatting because a single thread passes through the stitches.

The earliest evidence for needle tatting dates from April 1917, in an article by M.E. Rozella, published in ''[[Modern Priscilla (magazine)|The Modern Priscilla]].''<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Foster|first=Barbara|date=1 May 2014|title=Needle Tatting: An Almost Forgotten Art|journal=PieceWork|pages=15|via=EBSCO Host}}</ref> A tatting needle is a long, blunt 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. Rather than winding the shuttle, the needle is threaded with a length of thread. To work with a second color, a second needle is used. Although needle tatting looks similar to shuttle tatting, it differs in structure and is slightly thicker and looser because both the needle and the thread must pass through the stitches. However, it may be seen that the Victorian tatting pin would function as a tatting needle. As well, [[Florence Hartley]] refers in ''The Ladies' Hand Book of Fancy and Ornamental Work'' (1859) to the use of the tatting needle, so it must have originated prior to the mid-1800s.

In the late 20th century, tatting needles became commercially available in a variety of sizes, from [[yarn weight|fingering yarn]] down to size 80 tatting thread. Few patterns are written specifically for needle tatting; some shuttle tatting patterns may be used without modification.

===Cro-tatting===
Cro-tatting combines needle tatting with crochet.  The cro-tatting tool is a tatting needle with a [[crochet hook]] at the end. One can also cro-tat with a bullion crochet hook or a very straight crochet hook.  In the 19th century, "crochet tatting" patterns were published which simply called for a crochet hook. One of the earliest patterns is for a crocheted [[afghan (blanket)|afghan]] with tatted rings forming a raised design.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Victorian Needlework (Dictionary of Needlework)|last=Caulfeild|first=S.F.A|date=1972|publisher=Dover|location=New York, New York}}</ref> Patterns are available in English and are equally divided between yarn and thread. In its most basic form, the rings are tatted with a length of plain thread between them, as in single-shuttle tatting. In modern patterns, beginning in the early 20th century, the rings are tatted and the arches or chains are crocheted. Many people consider cro-tatting more difficult than crochet or needle tatting. Some tatting instructors recommend using a tatting needle and a crochet hook to work cro-tatting patterns. Stitches of cro-tatting (and needle tatting before a ring is closed) unravel easily, unlike tatting made with a shuttle.

A form of tatting called Takashima Tatting, invented by Toshiko Takashima, exists in Japan. Takashima Tatting uses a custom needle with a hook on one end.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.takashima-tatting.com/english/englishindex.html | title=Takashima Tatting |access-date=2015-12-18}}</ref> It is not that widespread however (in Japan the primary form of tatting is shuttle tatting, and needle tatting is virtually unknown.).{{cn|date=January 2025}}

===Materials===
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. Often they were constructed of small pieces 10&nbsp;cm or less in diameter, which were then tied to each other to form a larger piece — a [[shawl]], veil or umbrella, for example. This thread was either made of silk or a silk blend, to allow for improper stitches to be easily removed.{{Citation needed|date=July 2014}} The [[mercerised cotton|mercerization]] process strengthened cotton threads and spread their use in tatting. Newer designs from the 1920s and onward often use thicker thread in one or more colors, as well as newer joining methods, to reduce the number of thread ends to be hidden. The best thread for tatting is a "hard" thread that does not untwist readily. [[Gimp (thread)|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 [[ribbon]]s and [[bead]]s.