Customer Reviews

Tatting (Shire Library)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are so few books written on the history of tatting, and this one book is a short but sweet synopsis of the origins and development of tatting over the past two hundred years. Pam Palmer has written a small book that's big on information, covering many aspects of tatting, from its relative, knotting, to modern achievements during the latter part of the twentieth century. This book is filled with interesting photographs of tatting work, shuttles and other illustrations that add to the easy-to-read text. A must-have for any tatter's library.

I gave the book a 4 for history, though I would probably give it a 3 for craft content. It certainly cleared up a lot of confusion I've had over the difference between "tatting" and "knotting"--although I still suspect that those 18th Century shuttles could have been used for either art. This is a book for the individual specifically interested in the history of the craft, not those interested in learning it or finding useful modern patterns. There are better books for that. The photos of the early tatted works are really too small and indistinct to actually pick out a pattern and there are no actual written instructions or schematics accompanying any of the works presented. The experienced tatter should be able to intuit them, but most are a little too fussy for modern tastes, while some of those from the early to mid-20th century will probably seem a little quaint (who wears gloves these days?)