The open and airy pattern combined with the points (with the diamond shape) on this doily are very appealing for me. The Hannah snowflake will be open and airy, and those diamond shaped points will need to be incorporated.
I often use old pattern books for inspiration for new patterns. I like the dangling motif inside the ring on this pattern.
And still going strong from inspiration from my snowflake Diane, this will be the centre of my new pattern Gail.
As a starting point for a new pattern I often look in my old pattern books for ideas. This pattern is from a placemat pattern called Lavender & Lace from the book Tatted Doilies & Edgings edited by Rita Weiss (1980). (Most of the patterns in this book are actually from the early 1900s and are reprints.) The placemats are made up a series of these four-sided motifs.
It is a four-sided pattern, so it will need a lot of changes to make a six-sided snowflake. My snowflake patterns are all six-sided. The molecules in ice crystals join to one another in a hexagonal structure to create natural snowflakes, so six it is.
The appeal of this pattern is the defined points. I like the long corner points, and I also like the in-between points as an echo. I also like the chains between the rings with the connections to the inside row, they make for a very sturdy-looking design.
I’ve tatted this pattern in spare thread I have in size 8. This is quite thick and makes for large designs, which is good when starting a design. I’ve had many aggravating moments with patterns from old books that really don’t work, but you won’t notice this until you try to tat them in thick thread. Then looking closely at the pattern pictures, you see the manipulation that was needed after stitching in very thin thread to make the pieces work! An early 20th century take on “we’ll fix it in post”. I don’t need the aggravation of trying to work with that kind of pattern. But this pattern turned out quite well, so I’m happy to start with it.
Tatting by Anne Orr book 13 Plate 40 – Vine Medalion
This tatting book is available for free at The Antique Pattern Library at: www.antiquepatternlibrary.org
For me, inspiration often comes from looking at old tatting pattern books. I was looking for something Valentines-like so I made up this pattern in red and white. I liked it because it was light and cheerful. Particularly, I like the edge. I thought the two rings could be modified into hearts.
Knot Shire Notebook 