The Tatter's Treasure Chest

This was my first tatting book. I used it to teach myself tatting, and in retrospect the longhand directions were crucial to that. This is still my favorite tatting book because of the wide variety of basic tatting patterns. The black and white photographs reveal enough detail to visually help me through my occasional confusion with the directions. I love looking at the old fashioned collars and cuffs, and I have made many of the edgings. This is my go-to book when I want to start a new project.

This lovely book is a reprint of patterns from several books from the 1930s and 40s. There is a wide range of items including a huge selection of edgings, some lovely doilies, collars and baby wear and some exquisite table linen. The patterns are written in the old fashioned longhand style of their time. The reproductions are of reasonable quality considering the book was published in the late 1980s. There are no diagrams though most of the photos are quite clear. Most of the pieces are fairly simple though some are quite large, and most people will find it fairly easy to work them once the instructions have been deciphered. I recommend this book.

This book consists of reprints of patterns from thread company pamphlets of the 1930's, 40's and 50's. The reprints are well done and clear, and the original instructions have not been altered (In addition to the many patterns, readers will enjoy a nostalgic visit to an era when luncheon cloths, chair sets, and even roller shade pulls were supposed to exhibit a housewife's skill and elicit the envy of her neighbors).This book would be a good choice for a novice tatter who is looking for more patterns. Not only are the instructions written out in longhand, but there are hundreds of patterns to choose from (some tatters find longhad instructions difficult to follow because you can lose your place; they have a point! I use a Post-it Note as a marker, which helps).Tatting patterns from mid-century were marketed with a focus on novelty and "modern" styling. They also tended to be simpler than older patterns. Was this a reflection on tatters' decreasing skill level, or an acknowledgement that modern women had less time to devote to handwork? I give this book five stars a) for the number and variety of the patterns and b) for the quality of the black and white reprints, which are very clear.

This collection features dozens of patterns from the 1930s and 40s; more than 100 patterns for less than six dollars! For designs created during a time when tatting is thought of as being mostly doilies and edgings, this collection is pretty creative. Some of the most unique designs are the baby bonnet, earrings and boutennieres. I love looking at the models for some of the designs, everything is so vintage. My only problem with this book is that the patterns are written in longhand, making it easy to lose your place while tatting.

This is a huge collection of patterns from the 1930s and 1940s---more than 100 patterns for less than six dollars. For designs that were created during a time when tatting is often thought to have been limited to edgings and doilies, there are some pretty creative ideas. The tatted earrings, baby bonnets and handkerchiefs are all especially beautiful. There are a ton of edgings to dress up clothes and linens or turn into bookmarks. I love looking at the photographs of the models wearing the collars, they have such a vintage look. The only thing I don't like so much is the way the patterns are written out only in long form, which can make it easy to lose your place.