Last year I made this bell and gave it to my friend hot off the shuttles. I really didn't meant to make a second one, but as it often happens, I did. What can I say - the pattern was handy, the shuttles were wound and the beads were taunting me from the side table.
I finished this bell a few months ago. January? February? and then it sat on the side table for a loooong time before I sewed in the ends in the final round. Then it took a while to get around to taking a picture and then of course, it took a while to download said picture. It doesn't matter - here it is, albeit several months late. Considering that it is wedding season, maybe I should call this bell a wedding bell:)
Pattern from the Rebecca Jones' book (don't recall the title off the top of my head) with DMC Special Dentelles 80 in white and gold seed beads. Unlike the bell I gave to my friend, this one was not stiffened.
I'm pleased you are venturing into 3-D tatting!
ReplyDeleteThis looks really nice with the gold beads!
Back in 1990 when I first started tatting, I assumed I could find 3-D tatting patterns similar to 3-D crochet patterns. However, I could find very few 3-D tatting patterns. I didn't notice this bell in Rebecca's book at the time, but in the meantime I had crocheted a bell following a pattern that was specifically made to be shaped over a standard 3" styrofoam bell form. Fortunately, I found the form at a craft store back then. (These bell forms are hard to find, but available on the 'net). I wanted my tatted bell to have the same size and shape as the crocheted one, so I used the form and played around with making tatting 'rounds' to fit the form, and I was sucessful. And, of course, the form is used to form the bell after soaking it in fabric stiffener. I used plastic wrap over the form so I could easily remove the stiffened bell after it 'dried'.
I like to decorate my bells with flowers and ribbons (even adding crystal clappers on a chain) and give them to brides and their mothers for keepsakes - or as anniversary gifts. So enjoy your new venture! Bells are fun to make and can certainly also be used as Christmas ornaments!