International Tatting Day 2026

 

I have my current tatting project, my morning beverage, and chocolate, all ready for the day. 

What are you doing for ITD? 

Happy International Tatting Day 2025

April 1, the day many tatters around the world tat (maybe even in public!), eat chocolate, and enjoy a beverage of choice. Though we may not be close physically, we are close in spirit, sharing our joy in tatting by doing it intentionally today, together, on International Tatting Day.

                                        Tatting at the Y with my sister Elaine

Today, my sister, Elaine, and I tatted in the front area of the local YMCA after finishing our water exercise class. We enjoyed a few M&Ms and a beverage – she had water, and I had coffee – and tatted Muskaan’s E28 Heart, a derivative of Pattern #28 from Eleonore Endrucks’ “Die Schiffen-Spitszen’ (1920). I had seen Muskaan’s suggestion on Facebook that we should all try to tat a pattern from the Endrucks Project, #28. My sister and I had already agreed to tat there but it was to work on our current projects.

                      Checking the pattern

I chose two threads in size 10 and wound them on shuttles before leaving to exercise and surprised her with the idea. I brought the pattern and the shuttles, she brought the chocolate.

                                                 Happy tatting on ITD 2025

I think the spontaneity of working on this quick and fun pattern made the time spent together tatting so enjoyable. She’s only been tatting about a year, but she’s come a long way. Both of us finished our hearts within an hour.

E28 Heart by Muskaan, derived from #28 Eleonore Endrucks’ “Die Schiffen-Spitszen” 1920

I don’t always plan for ITD very far in advance. This year, I made paperclip bookmarks to give away if anyone showed interest. No one stopped by while we were tatting, so none were given away. I only had five left, anyway. I’ve been giving them away when people have talked to me about tatting for the last two weeks. At one point, I had 15. I didn’t even get a picture of all of them!

                                        Decorated paperclips for ITD 2025

Have you tatted today?

Tatting – the art of making knots look pretty.

International Tatting Day, 2024

International Tatting Day

I have chocolate, thread, and shuttle ready for International Tatting Day. I had hoped to be able to tat in public today, but I have so many things to do at home my only public will be the internet. Tatting IS a large part of what I need to do today, and chocolate will be eaten!

Wishing you all Happy Tatting today!

International Tatting Day 2023

Happy International Tatting Day! May you have time to tat, eat chocolate, and enjoy the beverage of your choice. If you can do it in public that’s even better!

Enjoy your tatting!

International Tatting Day 2022

International Tatting Day

Today, April 1st is International Tatting Day. Traditionally, we celebrate by tatting, in public if we can, eat chocolate, and drink a beverage of choice. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

Let’s celebrate!

Tatting in public

On April 1 I was able to tat in public. It isn’t always easy to get out this year to do so, but much easier than last year. I would have like to be in a slightly better spot, but being out was better than not going at all.

Tatting in public on ITD 2021

I invited my sister to go with me to a local coffee shop called Norm’s. The place was pretty busy so my choice of sitting was limited. Though no-one stopped to talk, my sister and I enjoyed a lovely visit.

My sister’s birthday was several weeks ago. She found out she had been exposed to a confirmed case of COVID 19 the day before, so instead of taking her out to celebrate then, she was quarantined. The good news is she didn’t didn’t get it! So we celebrated it on International Tatting Day.

After visiting at Norm’s for a while I took her to lunch. With the last year the way it’s been, we haven’t had the opportunity to get together much. The time flew by, making the morning seem very short.

For her birthday I gave her a bracelet I made of Liz Metallic # 319 Turquoise Blue.

Bracelet in Turquoise Blue Liz Metallic

I like this thread but it does tat a bit different than cotton thread. I notice this a lot on the chains, especially when they are long chains. It still came out well, and she was excited to get it. This is one of her favorite colors. It is a simple pattern but the metallic thread gives it a fancy look.

We had a wonderful time and I got to tat in public. Not a bad way to spend International Tatting Day. And there was chocolate.

‘Frequent conversations will fill your heart with joy.’ From a fortune cookie

International Tatting Day 2021

I have plans to tat in public, enjoy a refreshing drink, and eat chocolate!

What are your plans?

Decorated Eggs 2021

Last week I thought I wouldn’t be decorating any Easter eggs with tatting. But during the week I found the box that had the fake eggs I bought several years ago. Then I decorated them with just a touch of tatting, not encasing them. This year I was inspired by so many people encasing the eggs with tatting that I decided to give it a try.

Decorated egg for Easter 2021

This is tatted with Lizbeth # 662, Turquoise Lt., a ball that was in a box of miscellaneous tatting things I found in my craft room, one of many such boxes. This color was found in one of the first boxes I went through that day and goes well with the pink egg.

More of the top of the egg

This egg is the size of a real hen’s egg. Doesn’t it look real? It is light but not fragile like a real egg; I didn’t have to worry about dropping it. (Drop it? Me?!) If I did this pattern again I would definitely change the very top, so that each ring of the next round could attach to it. The second round does stay up okay, but I think it would look better joined to the top. This is my pattern, made in four rounds plus the bare thread used to sew the top and the bottom together.

When this one was finished, I tried something else on a much smaller, wooden egg.

Small decorated wooden egg

This one is made with only two rounds, a bottom round with the top added next, then a thread going through each of the picots of the top to enclose the egg. I don’t use a picot gauge very often but I did while making this. Did you notice that the egg isn’t painted? I thought about painting it, but decided I’d rather just leave it as is.

The two eggs side by side

I used the same thread on both. It looks about right on the larger egg but a smaller thread would have been better on the small one, don’t you think? Give it a more delicate look.

Easter egg size difference

I have these eggs hanging from the bottom of the light shade next to my computer. Other than that I don’t have any Easter or spring decorations out. As I have the decorated eggs from 2016, maybe I’ll put those out as well. Will I decorate any more? I’m not sure.

International tatting day is coming up on April 1st, just over a week away. I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to do anything special for it, or just make sure I have chocolate and time to tat. How about you? Any plans?

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked. Bernard Meltzer

International Tatting Day 2019

I hope you have had time for a bit of tatting today for International Tatting Day!

Happy Easter!

Simple cross

I hope you all have had a wonderful and blessed Easter.

This year Easter and International Tatting Day happen to fall on the same day. Which made it a very full day! Church in the morning, big family dinner and visiting in the afternoon, then finally a chance to sit down and tat.

I was trying to make a cross that was quick but simple to tat. I also was trying not to spend too much time on the Internet, which is extremely easy to do. So I fiddled around a bit and came up with this one. It’s made in Lizbeth #620 Azalea Medium size 20.

Now that I have time to put my feet up I’m making a couple more but with findings in the center. I think I can use the same stitch count as I did for this one. We’ll see.

I’m also working on a doily that is currently pinned out. I need it to be flat so I can decide what the next round will look like. It has been quite an interesting project so far. I’ll be sharing it later.

Now, I’m going to get me a warm drink – it’s pretty chilly today – put my feet up and tat. And have some chocolate!

“If you do what you love, it is the best way to relax.” Christian Louboutin                 www.brainyquote.com

 

International Tatting Day 2016

I had a lot of fun today celebrating International Tatting Day. 

Becky, Sherry, and me at Montana Mike's Steakhouse

( I should have moved over with the others so the window wasn't directly behind us)

Had lunch with two ladies that are my students.  We get together once a month to tat and this month it was in public with tatting and chocolate.  I brought Hershey's kisses in several varieties, something for everyone.

Becky and Sherry

I put the tatted buttons I've been working on in a teacup. The other teacup has the chocolate.  I also had a candy bowl with several shuttles wound with a yard of size 10 red thread and card stock wrapped with 2 yards of size 10 white thread.  These were to be given away if anyone was interested in trying and wanted them.  I demonstrated for one interested person but she didn't take a shuttle.  We had several people stop and ask questions about what we were doing and were very impressed.  No-one turned down the buttons when offered one. 

Sherry was having a little trouble and Becky helped her out.  Nothing ensures you know what your doing as much as having to demonstrate and help someone else. 

I  think I gave out about 10 buttons while we were out today.  At work I gave out the other 15 I had, along with a Hershey kiss. 

I guess I need to make more buttons :-)

I hope all of you enjoyed International Tatting Day where-ever you were.  

Keep Calm

and

Tat On

More buttons for ITD

With all the dust and disruptions at the house due to the remodel I've not gotten much tatting done. I can still do a bit in the car so I've continued to decorate buttons for International Tatting Day.

I did give away a few green ones last week to be worn for St. Patrick's Day. 

And one to an aunt who thought it was pretty.

And one to a co-working who really liked it.

The grandchildren like them, too. And their mothers.

I guess if I don't give them all away on ITD I'll still be able to do something with them eventually.

"Who gives from the mind is great

Who gives from the heart is truly blessed."

Marinela Reka

Shortly after I posted this we went out for lunch.  We met a nice lady in another booth that recognized that I was tatting and had a nice visit.  Before she left I gave her a button and my card.
Do you think I'll have any left for ITD?

Tatting for ITD

 There are so many things going on lately I've not really gotten into any projects even though I have several in mind.  Instead I've been working on little things to give away (I hope) on International Tatting Day April 1st.

Tatting around buttons is easy and quick and people really like them when they see them, making them ideal as small give-a-ways.  I've done a few in green because, hey, St. Patrick's day is coming up - never hurts to have a little green on you.

 Instead of sewing in the ends on these I've used them to sew on a small safety pin.  I have a whole jar of safety pins of different sizes, thought this would be a good place to use the smaller ones.

I think I'll move on to other colors now and maybe make a few into Easter eggs like I have the last couple of years; a few on paperclips and a few on safety pins.

I really need to keep a few of these handy all the time, not just for ITD.  I've had several opportunities to give something like this away to an interested by-stander but didn't have any with me that were finished.  Okay, I'd already given the finished ones away...  So I need to keep more on hand.

Still haven't gotten my drawing program fixed.  Now that I can't I really want to work on some patterns.  I hope I keep up the enthusiasm for when I have a working program again.

While I wait I might as well do another button.

"You gotta try your luck at least once a day, because you could be going around lucky all day and not even know it."

Jimmy Dean

www.brainyquote.com

International Tatting Day 2015

Plans for today:

Tat for enjoyment

Wear tatting

Eat chocolate!

Check out this cute little poem by muskaan.  This describes me, how about you?

‘Coz We Are Tatters

The room is all a-clutter

The family a-grumble, a-mutter,

But my heart is still a-flutter,

Stashing more thread is all that matters

‘Coz I am a tatter.

“That money’s for food!”

Oh, honey, I’m sure we’re good.

Need a new shuttle in wood

Diversifying my collection is all that matters

‘Coz I am a tatter.

There’s a new book online

Well I mayn’t tat a design

But that book has to be mine

Stocking my library is all that matters

‘Coz, peeps, I am very much a tatter!

                                (muskaan, March 2015) 

Make lace, not war :-D

http://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com

TTT on International Tatting Day

Happy International Tatting Day!

Today for Tatting Tea Tuesday and International Tatting Day, I had Celestial Seasonings "Country Peach Passion" herbal tea steeped in the tea-for-one teapot my daughter gave me.  And a couple of pieces of chocolate.

The shuttles shown are four that I decorated yesterday.  They are cream colored Boye shuttles, the two on the left decorated with scrapbook paper, the two on the right with material.  They came out pretty well.

These are paperclip bookmarks I have made for International Tatting Day.  I'm hoping to pass out a few of these to people today.  I'll be going out a little later to hopefully do some TIPping (tatting in public). 

Some of the patterns I used are:

'Dove' by JoAnn Stearns

'Little Fishies' by Sharon Albers

'Bunny Face' by Wanda Salmans (me) on my Patterns page

'Basket Paperclip Doodle' by Wanda Salmans (me) on my Patterns page

'Butterfly' - unknown

A decorated button - a doodle

Flowers - a doodle

Basket Paperclip Doodle 

© Wanda Salmans 2014

I hadn't found Ellen Lai's cute Spring Basket so I made my own.  I don't think it's as cute as hers, but it worked up pretty quick.  I've added it to my Pattern page if you're interested.

So, what are you doing for International Tatting Day?  Are you going to try a little tatting in public? Maybe eat a little chocolate?

Whether in public or just at home, I hope you take a little time to tat just for yourself and enjoy the day!

Happy Tatting!

"Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude."

Dale Carnegie

brainyquote.com

International Tatting Day

Happy International Tatting Day!

I don't think I'll get a chance to tat in public today, but actual tatting and eating chocolate - not a problem!

International Tatting Day

Happy International Tatting Day.

Have you had your chocolate today?  I shared mine at church this morning while I was wearing my vest with all the tatting on it.

Now I'm going to sit back with my feet up, drink some iced tea and tat a bit, just for me :-)

I'm looking forward to the mail this week - Sherry's new book should be here soon, yea!