Saturday, January 9, 2010

Tatting - Twisted Picot Join Tutorial

There are many explanations of and tutorials on how to make twisted picot joins floating through cyberspace.  I have decided to add my own explanation because I believe that an AHA moment of understanding can sometimes take more than one explanation or a photograph that clicks with someone.  Perhaps this description of the twisted picot join will be helpful...



Here is a simple motif which is ready for its final join i.e. twisted picot join.  A is the picot by which the final ring will be joined to the beginning ring.  B is the stretch of taut thread between the pinch and middle finger which will be joined to A.  To make the twisted picot join the motif will be folded along the blue line to bring A into alignment with B.



To begin, I am holding the motif in the normal fashion.



In this photo the motif has been folded.  The back of A is now visible and has been brought close to B.



I have inserted my crochet hook into picot A from the underside.




Now I turn the crochet hook clockwise to put it into position along the taught thread at B.



I'm ready to pick up the thread...




And pull the taught thread through the picot to form a loop large enough...




For my shuttle to pass through.
Don't ask me WHY I used such a big shuttle for such a small motif!




My ring needs 5 more DS before closing.  I add these now BEFORE unfolding the motif.




After the ring's stitches are complete, unfold the motif and make sure the twisted picot join is in fact NOT twisted and that stitches are correct.  I'm ready to close this ring!



Here is my completed motif.  The final join is my twisted picot join.

Look Ma, no lumps!!!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for such a clear tutorial.
Nicely done and a big help for those of us with the same "stumbling blocks." Katie V in NC

Katie said...

Thanks soooooo much for doing a visual tutorial on the twisted pico join. I've been struggling with it. It's clear as can be now!

Cindy said...

Thanks for your tutorial! I can so relate to having those "aha" moments. This final twisted picot join has definitely been a huge stumbling block for me also - I finally get it, but I still have to really think about what I'm doing.

I wanted to use the 25-motif challenge this year to improve my tatting and get some practice on the basic techniques. You've done just that with your first motif - and took it a step further and made a tutorial. Great job. Your tatting looks wonderful.

Fox said...

Beautiful explanation, Ann. So clear and easy to follow. That must have taken a lot of time to put together.... and a generous commitment to having others understand this very common stumbling block. As my old Auntie would say, "You're re
ally sumpthin!"
Fox : )

Krystle said...

Nice Job! I'm a doer-learner, so I'll have to grab some thread to follow what you were doing. I never memorized a method for that little trick, just fiddled until it was right. Thanks for the Tutorial!

sewmuchfun4 said...

Thank you Katie VF! I would be SO happy if it helps!

Hi Katie! Thank you - I'm glad it helped. That join gave me fits too!

Hi Cindy! Thank you! I joined the challenge for the same reason. I thought it would keep me motivated. If you have Mary Konior's book, Posy is a GREAT way to practice that join. I lost count, but I think there were 9 of them! I did the last ring in the carpool line at school without incident. That's when I thought this join was finally sticking with me!

AW shucks, Fox! It's been a while since someone called me "sumpthin!" :) It took about three hours I guess. My daughter took the pictures (she wants my camera now). The write up took longer because Baby Doll was sitting next to me watching a boisterous show called Yo Gabba Gabba. But I finally finished AND I can count to 5!!!

Thank you Krystal! I read your review post of Teiko Fujito's books this afternoon and saw all the beautiful pieces you have tatted from them - you have mastered the art of fiddling! :)

:) Ann

Martha said...

Wow -- your first tutorial, and such a nice job of it, too.

Isn't it a great feeling knowing that you are helping both friends and complete strangers with a tricky little problem that you managed to work out. I really like that.

sewmuchfun4 said...

Thanks Martha! It IS a really good feeling anytime you can help someone out. I'd be especially happy to help with this join, because I know how limited my tatting was before I figured it out. I hope to do another one some time but don't have anything in mind yet.
:) Ann

Lelia said...

thx a million! It worked for me : ) No more twist at the end : )

Yippie Skippie

sewmuchfun4 said...

I'm SO happy it helped, Lelia!
:) Ann

Tatteristic's 25 Motif Tatting Challenge said...

Awesome instructions! Thanks for the tutorial.

Anonymous said...

After reading this, I finally GOT IT last night!

Thank you so much!!!

Amy Lynn Hess said...

Oh, thank goodness. This was my fifth attempt, and I was ready to eat my shuttle.

sewmuchfun4 said...

Ha, Amy! I've been there, for sure. Glad the tutorial helped!

Ann

Unknown said...

Great tutorial thanks a million