A Tale of Two Split Rings

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom in tatting, it was the age of foolishness in regards to the ridiculous behavior displayed by people who thought they "owned" tatting, it was the epoch of belief that we all had discovered something new, it was the epoch of incredulity that someone had actually discovered it before us, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope that there was actually more techniques to discover in tatting, it was the winter of despair that perhaps it was all too difficult to learn, we had everything before us (tatting thread, tatting books, tatting shuttles), we had nothing before us (tatting thread, tatting books, tatting shuttles) and we needed to buy MORE...MORE, we were all going direct to heaven (to get our tatted angel wings), we were all going direct the other way (in a tatted handbasket) - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

~~Charles TattingChickens

~*~

Yes, as promised, I present to you "A Tale of Two Split Rings".

The following heart is the one I completed using today's technique.

This is Motif #5 Antique Rose Heart
for my second round of the 25 Motif Challenge.
Designed by Martha Ess and tatted in Yarnplayer's "Peace" and "Leafy" size 20 HDT's.

Here is last the heart from the last post completed using the MSR (Mock Split Ring)

Here they are side by side: The one that had the MSR is on the right.

Personally I like the one on the left better. I think it looks neater and tidier.

I think it has a lot to do with the following technique.

In my last post I mentioned that I

had done some commiserating with Gina, Jane, Laura, and Martha

on how to climb out of a round with 2 colors.

During our back and forth emails Martha suggested the following technique!

Of course I had to tat up another heart and to try it out!

She suggested that I try a SSSR (Single Shuttle Split Ring).

Remember that?

Her thought was to do the first half with 2 shuttles ~ resulting in a double core to solve the "how-do-we-get-the-green-thread-to-the-top-of-the-pink-Split-Ring" Dilemma.


So I did!

Here, let me show you!

~*~

Here we are at the place in a new round where we need to make

a split ring in order to continue on in that round.

Should I:

a) Go ahead and do a regular Split Ring resulting in 2 different colors on each side and hope no one notices.

b) Do a MSR (Mock Split Ring) as before...which quite honestly is hard with the Split Chain stitches and looked "wonky" after all that work.

c) Do a SSSR and hope no one notices that the green thread is at the bottom of the Split Ring.

d) Try Martha's suggestion and revise the SSSR just a bit.

What to do?

I went with "d"! Let me show you Martha's suggestion.

***

Skills needed:

SSSR (Single Shuttle Split Ring)

The ability to tat with 2 shuttles at one time, LOL!

***

First do the first half of the SSSR as a "regular ring"...only use both shuttles for the core thread. You wrap ONLY THE PINK THREAD around your hand, but pick up BOTH SHUTTLES to do the double stitches after the loop on your hand is made.

Here's what the first part of that ring will look like.(Sorry, I was the only one at home when these photos were taken so I had to take the ring off my hand in order to take the pictures, LOL!)

Here's a close up of the double core coming out of the double stitches.
Next, you drop both shuttles and just let them hang and complete the second half of the SSSR with the pink thread's loop. Here's a close up of the completed stitches of the ring.

Next, close the ring by pulling on the SSSR loop.

Here's a close up of the closed ring. Notice the threads coming out of the top AND out of the bottom.

Remember to pull the loop around the "neck" of the new ring before you close the loop.
Close up of loop around the neck of the new ring.

Complete the ring by pulling on the pink shuttle thread to close the SSSR loop at the bottom of the ring.
Close up of new completed ring!

Now, I can continue tatting as usual!
~*~

One thing I noticed was that this ring I showed you just now sure was easier to do AND it looked more uniform and even than the MSR from the last post. It was prettier! I've got comparisons of the close ups of the 2 split rings to show you so you can judge for yourself!

MSR (Mock Split Ring)

SSSR (Single Shuttle Split Ring) with 1st half a double core

***

What do you think? ( the SSSR is shown from the backside)

***

Another thing I noticed was that the SSSR was more uniform compared with the regular rings.

See?

The MSR is a big larger and more awkward looking compared to the following rings.

See?

If you make excellent Split Chain stitches, then the MSR (Mock Split Ring) or Dora Young Technique may be for you. If not, consider this version of the SSSR to climb out of a round with 2 colors.

~*~

Thanks for letting me share with you "A Tale of Two Split Rings"! For those of you who don't tat "YOU CAN WAKE UP NOW!", LOL! I appreciate you bearing with the tatting jargon through another long-winded post! For my tatting friends, I hope this helps with the climbing out of rounds with 2 colors dilemma! I liked this version better due to the lovely results and how easy it was to do! If you find this helpful, be sure to let Martha know how much you liked her suggestion! It just goes to show that when we work together we can come up with much better ideas in the tatting community!

For my friends in the USA I'd like to wish you all a very

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

I am very grateful for all the blessings that I have from living in this beautiful and great country. I am also very grateful for all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives to ensure this blessing for me. Thank you! God Bless America!

For all my bloggy friends from around the world I am grateful for your friendship! Thanks again for visiting and be sure to say hello before you go!

Love,

TattingChic

xoxo

Edited 5/30/09:

For Jane Eborall's technique page

on this Double Core SSSR technique

click here.