Tatting is a form of lacemaking involving only the use of the fingers, a pointed shuttle, and thread. The thread used may be cotton or silk, or a synthetic fiber such as polyester. It can be thick or thin but it must be smooth. Shuttles for tatting used to be made of ivory, bone, mother-of-pearl, or tortoise shell, but are now usually made of plastic. The shuttles come in several sizes. As a craft, tatting is less popular now than it was in the past, probably because it is difficult to master and requires some dexterity (skillful use of the fingers). As a term, tatting refers both to the finished lace and the process of producing it.
Tatting is a form of handiwork that uses knots. In fact, only one type of knot is employed: a reversed double half-hitch, usually referred to as a stitch or double stitch in written tatting patterns. Each stitch is made up of two half-stitches, and tatting is the means of producing groups of such stitches.
The stitches can be drawn into chains, circles, or semicircles for decorative edging, insertions, or patterns of small loops called picots. These ornamental arrangements can be stitched together to make various articles ranging from doilies to bedspreads. The thickness of the thread and the size of the shuttle determine the thickness and weight of the finished work. Tatting can be delicate and fragile in appearance, but it is strong and does not unravel.
Tatting is similar to macrame, one of the oldest forms of lace still in existence. In its modern form, tatting probably arose in Italy during the 1500’s. During the 1600’s and 1700’s, knotting, an early form of tatting, developed as a fashionable pastime.
In the 1800’s, tatting was of commercial importance in the lacemaking industries of Ireland and of the Confederate States during the American Civil War. Today it is often seen on sale in craft shops and tourist gift shops.
