A little practice will even out those threads. Shuttles need a smooth, even, not-too-tight wind so that the thread comes off easily when you need it. Once you have whatever you plan to use as a shuttle, wind it with thread. The Clover shuttles are more expensive because you get two. All of these shuttles cost about $4 to $6 apiece. It’s a great shop, I buy from her regularly, and I believe she ships anywhere. ![]() So… where can you get these things? You can purchase both tatting shuttles and threads from Lisa at The Tatting Corner. It also has a removable bobbin and a hook. This is a reporduction of the 1920s through 60s Boye metal shuttle. It looks like this, and this style is what I used when I learned to tat. If you want a metal shuttle like tatters used in the 1920s through the 1960s, Lacis (another lace supplier) has reproduced the old metal Boye shuttle. It grabs thread so you can bring it through a loop as you tat. The various colors help you to keep things straight. Now they are available in two colors per package, which is really nice when you either have two projects going at once or you are using two shuttles at the same time. Then Clover began making these shuttles in many different solid colors. The Clover shuttle first came in a hard plastic, two-toned tortoise-shell. The hook helps to catch the thread and pull it through loops. (If I recall correctly, Handy Hands bought the original molds from the manufacturer and retooled them.) Now they come in a rainbow of colors, and they are very popular with tatters. Then these shuttles went out of production, and Handy Hands, a tatting thread and shuttle manufacturer in the U.S., began making them. The Aerlit shuttle actually began its life in England as the Aero tatting shuttle, and then moved to Germany. They have picks on one end and a post in the middle You wind the thread around the post. Two very popular styles lead the rest: the “Aerlit” style and the “Clover style. Most vintage shuttles were made from metal or bone, but today’s shuttles are formed in plastic. If you want a tatting shuttle to learn with, by all means get one. What is a shuttle and where do I find one? Georgia taught and designed tatting for many years. And here’s a link from the incomparable Georgia Seitz that gives you a pattern for making your own shuttles from cardboard or plastic. Here’s a tutorial on how to make a tatting shuttle from a plastic lid you may have lying around the house. I said that the only thing you absolutely need for tatting is thread. It’s about half the size of 10, yet it’s big enough to see and big enough to loosen if a stray knot appears where it’s not supposed to. I make almost everything I do in a size 20 thread. Some advanced projects and edgings are tatted with size 80 thread, which is thicker than sewing thread by enough that you can at least see it. If you want to stick with size 10 for awhile, do so. ![]() So to begin with, at least, start with something bigger: size 10 thread is easy to find and it makes a good starter thread. It’s hard to undo stray knots in sewing thread. Sewing thread does not make good tatting thread (although it can be great for other kinds of handmade lace.) For tatting, sewing thread is really small, and really tight. And the thread can be any size, but it’s nice if it’s thick enough that you can actually see it. Third, lacemaking can be a very inexpensive hobby. With shuttle and thread, all those knots make lace. Of course, you make that knot ten thousand times in different positions, but it is only one knot. Second, to learn tatting you only need to learn one knot. That way if I have a moment, I can progress with my latest project. Most days I carry a shuttle and thread in my pocket, attached to some unfinshed tatting. Today I’m going to talk about tatting, which is simply making lace with a shuttle and thread. The pink and green thread is my current project, and underneath it is a metal Boye shuttle. On the other side is a reproduction of the shuttle that Modern Priscilla gave out as a subscription premium in the 1920s. ![]() On one side of the blue Clover shuttle is the elusive tortoise-shell plastic Clover. ![]() Tatting shuttles, thread, and tools from my private collection.
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