Tatted Silk Shawl

This is one of Teiko Fujita's pattern, available in English in the book Tatted Fashion from Lacis. I've always really liked her patterns and use them frequently. She makes good use of negative space in her designs. I particularly enjoy the effect of different density in this pattern, with some areas almost solid and some very open.

I tatted this in silk thread from au ver a soie using the thread double. That is to say, I wound it onto the shuttle double and treated the two threads as one. This is a handy trick if, as in this case, you can't find the thread you want in the thickness you want.

I have always loved tatting patterns where two or more motifs create interesting shapes between them. Teiko Fujita is good at this, and so is Mary Konior.

One minor point is that I had trouble with the smell of this silk yarn. I assumed the odd odour would wash out when I blocked the finished piece, but in fact I had a lot of difficulty with this. Nothing I tried seemed to help and in the end only time cured the problem. It is now a number of years since I finished this piece and it no longer smells unpleasant. I understand that this may be something to do with the methods used in producing the silk. Anyway, if it is likely to bother you, it is worth sniffing any silk yarn before you use it and deciding if you will be able to live with the smell in case it proves hard to get rid of.