Avoid bowl effect on doiliesDate: Tue, 05 Mar 1996 18:01:14 EST Subject: re: bowl effect This is 2 independent essays on avoiding the bowling of tatted doilies. In a lot of cases, thread size doesn't matter in tatting. However, when working in successive rounds, stitch size (meaning thread size and tension) *does* matter. As you pointed out, if the center were smaller, the bowl effect wouldn't happen. I learned this crocheting a large, complex "granny square" pattern. Try starting with finer thread. Or, if the round has a repeating unit, you can add several (the number depends on how many repeats goes around) wedge-shaped "gussets". If the design takes 6 repeats to complete a circle and it's just a little too tight compared to the previous row, add a small unit at the end of each repeat. E.g., lengthen the chain by a couple of stitches, or add a short chain, or something. On the next round, when you get to the extra unit, add a larger unit overlying it. Each row, add something a bit larger, creating 6 wedges of your own "design" evenly interspersed around the doily. E.g., if you added a short chain of 4 stitches on the first tight round, add a longer chain on the next round, add 2 short chains with a ring between on the next round, add 2 rings with a chain between on the next, etc. Obviously, as I'm not much of a tatter, the details of this should be worked out by someone who knows the technique better. Also, the exact design of the wedges would depend on the nature of the design it's being incorporated into. As far as using math to avoid the bowlies, remember that the circumference of a circle is pi times diameter. If you have a doily of 10 cm diameter, it's current circumference is 31.4 cm. That's the length of the inside of the round you want to work. The outside of the round you want to work depends on how "thick" this round's design is. If the design is, say, 2 cm high, the diameter of the doily after the round is done will be 10+2+2=14 cm. (You're adding 2 cm all around, which is 2 cm on each side of the circle.) The outside diamter of the round you want to do must be 3.14x14=44 cm. You need enough repeats to go 44 cm. Combine this info with David Downunder's explanation of how to get the picots to mesh harmoniously with the previous round's picots, and you should never again face the dreaded bowl effect.
|