Tatted Bookmark

This is the most recent bookmark I designed. I used some of the vintage size 80 thread I won on ebay because I wanted to see if it was good for tatting or too frail from age to be usable. I'm glad to say that it worked out just fine. I selected a solid and a variegated that I though would work together well.

The variegated appears to be the same as some crocheted pieces included with the thread so I sort of had an idea how it would look. The colour change is very short for a commercial thread which really surprised me, but maybe vintage threads had shorter changes because more people used them for tatting.

I was making things up as I went along using pink for the cloverleavess and the variegated for the chains but it was too skinny and I didn't like the idea of the empty spaces left between the cloverleaves that happens when you join them top to top. So I added a row of split rings down the middle which both filled in the space and carried the variegated thread throughout the bookmark.

I didn't want to use tassels because they take too long to make and because this bookmark is for my Bible and I wanted several markers. I like to read a little Old Testament, a little New Testament and a little of the Psalms every day but I don't like to break the binding on my Bible by putting too much between the pages. With this bookmark I can leave the bookmark in one spot and take each of the ends and put them wherever I happen to be reading. Just for variety I used a different motif on each end. One has a daisy, one has a cross, and the middle variegated one is a butterfly.

I didn't think to match the colours on the split rings down the middle. I was just using as it came off the shuttles. When I did the ends I needed to put more thread on the shuttles so I matched the colours and I'm glad I did. If I was to do this bookmark again I think I'd match up the colours for all of the split rings.

The bookmark measures about 6.5 inches long and about 1 inch wide (2.5 x 16.25 cm) and as you can see from the picture the split ring ends are almost as long as the bookmark.