Tatting
Butterfly-shaped handiwork created by means of tatting technique | |
| Type | Lace |
|---|---|
| Material | Silk, linen, cotton |
| Production method | Tatting |
| Production process | Craft production |
| Place of origin | worldwide |
| Introduced | 19th century for the contemporary methods |
Tatting is a technique for handcrafting a particularly durable lace from a series of knots and loops. Tatting can be used to make lace edging as well as doilies, collars, accessories such as earrings, necklaces, waist beads, and other decorative pieces. The lace is formed by a pattern of rings and chains formed from a series of cow hitch or half-hitch knots, called double stitches, over a core thread. Contemporary tatting methods arose in the 19th century, influenced by the numerous publications of Mlle Eléonore Riego de la Branchardière who developed the concepts and terms for picots and chains.
Gaps can be left between the stitches to form picots, which are used for practical construction as well as decorative effect.
In German, tatting is usually known by the Italian-derived word Occhi or as Schiffchenarbeit, which means "work of the little boat", referring to the boat-shaped shuttle; in Italian, tatting is called chiacchierino, which means "chatty".