I’m interested in developing patterns for 3D tatted flowers et al. in the vein of Irish crochet. I’m also interested in breaking out of the conventional cotton tatting thread into threads with more appealing finishes, such as silk & rayon.

I ordered the Crystal yarn because the seller described it as “equivalent to #10 thread”. The pattern I used is “3-D Rose using ANKARS Ring-on-ring Technique” by Stephanie Wilson, & is available @ www.bellaonline.com/articles/art5248.asp. I was able to tat the rings in the ANKARS style by tatting the double stitches with a very light tension while closing the rings quite tightly, yielding firm rings that support the 3D structure.

The soft yarn makes for tatting that is smoother to the touch than conventional tatting cotton, which feels rather hard. The “crystal” look of the yarn is due to a shiny white thread twisted into the variegated purple yarn, and the crystal effect is preserved in the tatted rings altho the effect comes out more as flecks.

I added a bright yellow 4mm bicone crystal to perk up the center, and left a long tail since I haven’t the faintest idea of what will happen to it next. Since I also have some green pearl cotton to try out, the ststus of this item may revert to “in work”.