Blocking Snowflakes

I'm almost done making snowflakes for the year. These have been blocked and stiffened with Mod Podge Extreme Glitter. They are not attached to each other, just laid out on the table to form one giant snowflake:

I've been using a polar grid that I printed out from Inkscape to block the latest snowflakes. I placed each grid into a plastic sheet protector, to protect the tatting from the ink on the paper (and also to prevent the stiffener from sticking to the blocking surface).

I haven't been pinning the tatting because I don't know how that would work with a sheet protector, and I also don't want the pins to get stuck to the Mod Podge stiffener. The stiffener makes it so that I can push the tatting into place by hand and it will stay.

If you'd like a copy of the snowflake blocking template, you can access and print it HERE. I've also put a link to the template at the top of my Tutorials page.

I made a few of these snowflakes in smaller thread to see how big they would be. Here's a comparison with measurements listed under each snowflake:

It was pretty difficult to get the Josephine knots to close using size 80, so I won't be making any more in this thread. Size 20 works the best, and size 40 is alright too.

Free Diagramming Template

Hi everyone! I was planning to include a free diagramming template in a future post, but I decided to go ahead and offer it today. I've created an Inkscape file with a variety of ring constructions that you can copy paste into your own diagrams. Here is a screenshot:

Click here to access the file on Google Drive.

To be able to use the file, you will have to download it to your computer. There should be a Download button at the top of the screen after clicking on the above link. Make sure that you have Inkscape installed, because the file is in .svg format and may not show up properly in other programs.

Also, a brief note to those making your own diagrams: When you save your final version, make sure to export it as a PDF so that it is accessible to the general public. To do this, go to File > Save As:

Then choose PDF from the drop down menu on the save screen:

There will be some boxes to check. Select "Convert text to paths" and "Rasterize filter effects." Then decide if you want to export just your drawing, or the whole page (I always choose page):

That's it for now. I will probably resume making tutorial posts next week. Have a great weekend!