Category: Monthly Challenge

This is my first Christmas ball ornament to cover in tatting. The Monthly Challenge for December is ornaments of any type. This is my answer to the challenge! I’ve admired balls covered in tatting but had never tried it, thought it would be too hard. This one is made with DMC Cebelia size 20 thread #816 with 3mm gold beads. The beads are mostly in the rings and end up in the ring’s mouth. I loved how Michael (Msquared) had done the beads on his ‘Snowflake and Silver’ and thought I’d try it. It didn’t come out looking quite like his did, but I thought the result worked quite nicely.

I was asked if I would share the pattern, so here it is, untried by anyone but me. I tried to add a diagram on how I finished off the bottom but I couldn’t get it to look right in the post. So if anyone happens to try this and can’t figure out just what in the world I was trying to say, leave me a comment and I’ll try to answer it (a little more clearly!)

Abbreviations:

RW – Reverse Work; DNRW – Do Not Reverse Work

B – bead; Ch – Chain; R – Ring; p – picot; + – join

Christmas Ornament in Blue and Red
Pattern is for a ball 2 ¼“ in diameter, using size 20 thread. Number of stitches in chains will need to be adjusted for different diameter balls and thread sizes.
2 shuttles, beads on both
Top
*Sht1 R (with one bead in R) 2-2-2-2-2-7 Close. Bead will be at R mouth. RW
Ch 10 B 10 join to 5th p of prev R. RW*
Repeat between * until there are 10 rings and chains.
$ Ch 15 DNRW
Sht2 (with one bead in R) 5-5 Close. Bead will be at R mouth. DNRW
Sht1 Ch 15 join to base of next R. DNRW $
Repeat between $ all the way around. Cut and finish ends

Middle
@Sht1 (with one bead in R) 2-2-2—2-2-2. Close. Bead will be at R mouth. RW
Ch 15 DNRW
Sht2 R (with one bead in R) 5+5 join to R of Top, pull p through a loose bead before joining. Close. Bead will be at mouth of R. DNRW
Sht1 Ch 15 RW @
Repeat between @ around. Cut and finish ends

Bottom
^ Sht1 R (with one bead in R) 2-2-2+2-2-2 join to long p of Middle R , pull p through a loose bead before joining. Close. Bead will be at R mouth. RW
Ch 10 DNRW
Sht2 R (with one bead in R) 5-5. Close. Bead will be at R mouth. DNRW
Ch 10 RW ^
Repeat between ^ around. Cut and finish ends

Insert ball into tatting. As tatting is adjusted around ball evenly, pin in place.
When happy with placement insert a pin in the center bottom of ball. Thread needle with about 12” of tatting thread. With thumb hold down about 2” of thread, then pull needle through p of 5-5 R opposite the pin. Count 5 or 6 rings over, pull thread through p, repeat, each time going on the far side of the pin (thread will have to make a turn at the pin). This will weave the rings evenly at the bottom. Tie and cut when happy with tension. Work in loose end and cut. Remove pin.

On to other things – I’m working on another of Bob’s coilies, except this time I’m pretty sure you’d call it a doily, as it’s in size 10 thread and is quite a lot bigger than the one I did in size 30. I’m thinking of trying another round on it to make it a bit bigger. This is going to be a Christmas gift and I’d like it to cover a little more table space. I’ve actually finished with Bob’s pattern and now I’m deciding my next step. Stay tuned for further updates, and maybe a picture.