Free Pattern: Priscilla Cross and Square

I got the chance to get the pattern for the Priscilla Cross and Square diagrammed over the weekend. You can access it through my Free Patterns page or go directly to it by Clicking Here.

Normally, I would test tat another version of the pattern after the diagram is completed, just to make sure everything is in its proper place. However, with this pattern taking so long to tat, I chose to proofread my diagrams instead of proofreading AND tatting. Let me know if you encounter any mistakes!

I also did not get the chance to put four squares together, though I'm fairly certain they can be used as a repeatable motif. I've made arrows on the diagram showing which picots to use to connect the squares together.

This pattern follows the same flow as the Priscilla Bookmark, which can also be found on my Free Patterns page. The only new stitch counts are in the central chains and floating rings.

An Update

I haven't been doing any tatting these past couple of weeks. Mom fell and broke her hip in three places, requiring surgery and a short stay at a rehab center. She's back home with dad now, who has been taking care of her, and seems to be feeling much better.

Before that happened, I did manage to tat a square based on the Priscilla Cross design from my previous post.

It's done in Lizbeth size 40 white and gold (colors chosen before that whole white and gold dress thing happened). It measures 3.75 inches across and 5 inches diagonally. Here it is alongside the cross. It's in the binder where I keep all of my designs and diagrams:

These two still need diagrams, which will be made as soon as I am able to concentrate on them.

In the meantime, I've been learning how to knit again. I find that knitting requires a lot less brainpower than tatting and can be done even when I'm half asleep. I've just been practicing my knits and purls with a simple knit 4 purl 4 scarf:

This little guy likes to join me on the couch, though I have to be careful...he likes to chew the paper wrapper as well as the yarn!

With the weather finally getting nicer, I decided to pick up a happier color of yarn at the store yesterday. I think my next project will be leg warmers with a simple cable design.

And, as soon as I am mentally rejuvenated, I will of course get back to tatting :)

Priscilla Cross

In my previous post, I talked about using software to help visualize pattern adaptations. I took the Priscilla bookmark and spliced it together to create a rough draft of a cross. Over the weekend, I estimated stitch counts for the inner rings and chains and began tatting. Here is the result:

As expected, the pattern adaptation was simple...though I could not have done it without the visual road map. The only stitch counts that were missing from the original bookmark were the floating rings and chains in the center of the cross. It took two tries to get it right, due to overestimating the size of the floating rings the first time. The discrepancy was apparent early on so I had only two arms of the cross completed before I started over again.

Like the bookmark, this cross is very large. I tatted it in DMC size 80, which is ever so slightly larger than Lizbeth size 80. It measures 5.75 inches long and 4.25 inches wide. It's all done in one pass, and is quite tedious, taking about 8 hours to finish.

I think the pattern would really benefit from the use of two colors. While tatting this, I realized that it would also make a nice square. The outer picots are already in perfect position to join multiple squares together. So, before making any diagrams, I will probably go off on a tangent and tat one square just to see how it looks. I say one square because I don't think I will have the stamina to make four...each square taking about 6 hours!

As I was looking through Craftree last night, I noticed that I am not the first person to adapt the Priscilla edging into a bookmark (maybe I am the first to adapt it into a cross?). I saw that Susie Arnholt had created the same bookmark in 2013, with different stitch counts and different corners (look for the off white bookmark in post #1, instructions for completion in post #5). Her rings are smaller and would work better with size 20 thread. My variations are somewhat limited to the tiny threads, unless you want a giant bookmark or cross.

Software Assisted Pattern Adaptations

When it comes to tatting, I am an absolute visual learner. I can follow diagrams with ease, but give me a written pattern and I don't know how to make heads or tails of it.

It naturally follows that to adapt a pattern, I need some kind of visual reference. Any computer program that has copy, paste, crop, resize, and rotate will do (though I tend to use various Apps on my iPad, because my laptop is usually tucked away in a closet.)

The Priscilla bookmark, for example, started as an edging from the Priscilla Tatting Book #2:

I wanted to see how the pattern would look if I turned it the other way around, so I took a photo of the pattern and cropped it:

I used two copies of the photo, making sure to rotate one of them so I could splice them together:

This gave me a basic idea of how the bookmark would look, though it still needed a corner. To do so, I used a third copy of the image and spliced it onto the end:

I tried pulling the corner out a little more, but found that it looked best as it is pictured above.

Figuring out the stitch count for the corner required only minor adjustments to the chains. However, as is the case with many vintage patterns, this one needed a bit of tweaking to get it to lay flat. I tatted a small sample to test out the corner and to adjust the stitch count:

From this, the final pattern was constructed:

At the beginning of the year, mb duke made a blog post and asked if the bookmark pattern could be converted into a cross. I believe the answer is yes, and that it would be fairly easy to do. Using the same concepts above, I can splice four images of the bookmark together to create a cross:

A bit of adaptation is needed to get the pattern to flow continuously, so I used an App on my iPad to draw over the center portion in white. I also began to draw connecting chains:

From this point, one can add their own ideas of how to stabilize the central part of the cross. I chose floating rings, which I drew on my iPad (please excuse the poor drawing quality!)

I don't have a finished version of this, but I am really confident that the idea would work. All that is needed is to estimate the stitch counts for the inner chains and floating rings. The rest of the stitch counts are already provided in the bookmark pattern itself. This is something that I have added to my ever growing "To Do" list, and if I ever complete it, I will add it to the free patterns section of my blog.

This one's for me

I've completed my second Priscilla Bookmark (the first one was given away as a Christmas gift). This one is tatted in Lizbeth size 80 Rainbow Taffy, and I am keeping it for myself :)

Without the tassel, it works out to be 1.5 inches wide and 6 inches long, which fits well into a book.

I typically don't read much. Maybe this bookmark will get me to start.

I've posted a printable PDF of this pattern on my Free Patterns page. There has been a bug in Google Drive which blocks PDF files from being shared. It looks like it's fixed now, but just in case it's not, I have included two links to this pattern on my Free Patterns page. The bottom link will take you to the post about the bookmark, which contains a diagram for completing it.

Priscilla Bookmark

It looks like I will have to wait until after the Holidays before resuming Inkscape posts. I didn't realize how busy I would be trying to get everything done. Here is another last minute tatted gift. This one is based on an edging from the old Priscilla Tatting Book #2. It is tatted in Lizbeth size 80 Vineyard Harvest:

I turned the edging the opposite way from what is shown in the book. In addition, I had to make some minor adjustments to the stitch count and add corners to create a bookmark.

Having some experience in designing really comes in handy when altering antique patterns. I used to get really frustrated because I didn't know what to do when antique patterns didn't work out. Now it's just like I'm fixing up one of my own patterns to get it to lay flat.

The Priscilla Tatting Books are all in the public domain, so these patterns are available for free. 

For those who are interested in creating this bookmark, I've drawn up a diagram with the stitch counts. Right click and open the image in a new tab to see the numbers clearly.

This bookmark works up very large, so I recommend it for tatters who like to use small threads. Size 80 works great, and I wouldn't go any larger than size 40 for this one.

Muskaan asked what size the bookmark is when it's finished. Using size 80 thread, my bookmark measures 1.5 inches wide and 6 inches long (though length will vary depending on the number of repeats chosen). In size 20 thread, the bookmark is 2.25 inches wide, and can be as long or as short as you want it.