Those little extra things ...

You may recall that this past year I've been learning tatting as an additional skill.  I've also used it this year as a way to enhance the holiday gifts I've been making.

There's always someone, though, a hair-dresser a health care worker or a co-worker, who should get a little more than a tip or a card.  Something that could be considered an enhanced holiday card and so not demanding a reciprocation, and finally something that lets that person know they are valued.  

It's even better if that extra something can be attached to the inside of the card in such a way as to make it easily re-gift-able.  Post-It-Notes serve that purpose by holding the earrings in place and also displaying them while making moving them to a new card easy.
 
After searching everywhere for a good, small snowflake, I designed this earring.  Designed is a strong word for what I did.  I kept trying various options until I finally happened on this and had the foresight to write down what I was doing while I was doing it.

Materials:

Size 5 tatting needle
DMC Blanc No. 20, Cebelia, white cotton
6/0 Czech Glass Beads

It took a lot of trial and error to devise this pattern and I learned two of three important answers.   

First, I initially planned on placing the beads on the tips of the snowflake but encountered two problems.  

1. Beading the ends of the picots caused the flakes to fold in on themselves -- not good.  
2. I was having difficulty maintaining the space between the bases of the six rings.

Using the beads as bumpers between each ring made the thread between each ring uniform in length.  It also created an equally weighted circle in the center of the motif. 

Second, I wanted all the picots, both those at the tips of the rings and those joining the rings, to be of equal length.  I found the best option was drawing a 3/8" line on my index finger in black ink, and then washing the finger so the stain wouldn't transfer to the thread.

Third, and this is the problem I've not yet solved, the final joining picot ends up twisted, no matter what I do.  There are plenty of tutorials online advising shuttle tatters how to avoid that twisted link, but I have yet to find one for tatting needle users.  I just placed the twisted picot where it seemed the least noticeable.  Here's the scribbling I did.  You can see how I was documenting my progress, then scratching out and trying something else.

And here is the finished pattern.

Prep:

String at least 6 beads on the thread.  You will need to use the tatting needle to do this as it must be able to slide through them.  If any bead won't slide over the needle, either discard it or set it aside for use with a #7 or #8 needle on a different project.  

R = Ring
- or p = picot
+ = join
3 or 2 = number of DS

First Ring.

3-2-2-3 Close. Tie.  Do not Reverse.
Slide a bead up in place at the base of the ring along the ball thread.  
Pass the tatting needle through the bead once more so the ball thread and needle thread are coming out of the bead, and laying parallel.

Rings 2 through 5

3+2-2-3 Close. Tie.  Do not Reverse.
Slide a bead up in place at the base of the ring along the ball thread.  
Pass the tatting needle through the bead.

Ring 6

3+2-2  
Fold motif in half vertically in order to join to the first side picot created on Ring 1.

+3  

Closing this ring can be tricky.  Before cinching it tight I re-arrange it gently so that the top picot lies to the outside of the ring and the two legs of the ring point to the center. Tie.  Do not Reverse. 

Slide the last bead up in place at the base of the ring along the ball thread. Pass the tatting needle through the bead then pass the needle through the base of the first ring, knot.  

Finishing: 

 Weave tails into the rings and clip short.  When a sufficient number of snowflakes are finished, get them wet and pin them out to dry a styrofoam block.  I like to spritz them with 3 sprays each of fabric stiffening spray and let them dry a couple of days before hanging them from an ear-wire.

If any of you know how to avoid twisting a picot while needle tatting, I'd love to know for next year. 

Now this particular pattern, in sport weight or worsted weight yarn, adorned with 2/0 beads would make excellent detachable tree ornaments for the front of a card for next year.  Have I tipped my hand there?   Happy Hollandaise!!!