Stiffening beaded tatting

This is a continuation of my previous post, in which I tested out different methods of stiffening tatting. I received a comment asking if anyone had tried fully submerging a piece of beaded tatting into a stiffener, and how that would turn out. Luckily, I had a few tatting scraps to test this on: one with beads and one with a metal filigree finding.

I decided to use Mod Podge Stiffy because it is my favorite of the fabric stiffeners that I tried. I poured the stiffener into a plastic cup and submerged the tatting in it for a few minutes. Afterwards, I took the tatting out and blotted it really well with a paper towel. I made sure to remove any excess stiffener that had gotten onto the finding and beads. I let the tatting dry overnight on a paper plate wrapped in plastic wrap.

Here are the results. The heart had a lot more substance to it, so it turned out a little stiffer than the small beaded sample.

I didn't notice any stiffener stuck to the metal filigree finding. Even though the tatting was blotted really well, it still maintained the same level of stiffness as my previous tatted samples using Mod Podge Stiffy. I guess the stiffener really soaked into the fibers.

Here's another picture of the back of the filigree finding. I think the color abnormalities are just part of the finding, and not the fabric stiffener:

I tested the stiffener on a small beaded sample as well. If anything, maybe the beads became a little duller after the process? It's hard to tell as I forgot to take a picture of the tatting before it was stiffened.

Again, there is no residue left on the beads and the tatting is fairly stiff. This one didn't have as much substance so it's not quite as stiff as the tatted heart.

Overall, I'd say this product works really well and as long as you are careful to blot out the excess stiffener, it shouldn't interfere with beaded tatting. However, I would suggest running a test before using it on something you like, just to be sure!