"But, really, why does anyone create? You feel a... a restlessness inside, a need to make something new, something no one has ever seen before. You want to add to the beauty and the richness of the world with a gift, an offering that is uniquely yours. It's an act of selfishness and generosity, all rolled into one."

-- Bruce Coville,
The Last Hunt

Friday, April 22, 2011

Oooh, Sparkly!

So, my cousin's wedding is coming up in just over a week. It will be outdoors, weather permitting. There are numerous reasons why outdoor gigs are a bit of a hassle for harpists. We usually don't complain, except to each other on the Harplist. But the one thing I absolutely will not tolerate is my hair blowing in my face while I'm trying to play. My hair is very long and somewhat curly, so all those silly little clips and combs and bobby pins from the drug store are completely useless to me. Having no desire to drive all over town looking for an acceptable hair accessory, I decided I could make my own.

Naturally, it has to match my outfit, which in keeping with musicians' tradition will be black. But the hair accessory can't be plain black, because that looks stupid against my dark brown hair, neither blending nor contrasting. So I decided on black with some sparkle.

Start with a plain, ordinary barrette.


Cover it with pearl tatting in size 20 black Lizbeth.


Size 20 so that the somewhat sharp edges of the barrette don't wear through it too quickly. Pearl tatting for two reasons. First, so that there will be double stitches on both sides of the barrette for symmetry and a finished look. Second, for picots. I didn't want to spend a lot of time working out how many DS I would need between joining picots; I just wanted to have a picot there whenever I needed to join. In pearl tatting, there's automatically a picot after every DS on each side. That's why it's called pearl tatting, in fact; "pearl" is an archaic term for "picot".

Finally, add an edging in black and silver threads with beads.


I know it's not the greatest picture; it's late and I don't feel like looking for a better background. You get the idea, though. The edging is Number 15 from Anne Orr's Classic Tatting Patterns. The threads are black Lizbeth size 80 and silver Coats and Clark metallic. The beads are Miyuki delica seed beads in hyacinth and 3mm stardust silver beads. I should have also put a seed bead on the free picot of each large ring, but I didn't think of that until after the shuttle was already wound.

The two threads together tatted up around the size of a size 20, primarily because I loosened my tension so much so as not to break the metallic. I probably could have tatted a little tighter, but I really didn't want to deal with a lot of broken ends so I played it safe. I had no idea it would end up so nicely centered, either; it was just one of those "start tatting and hope for the best" things that happened to work out.

Tomorrow morning I go for one final practice session on a friend's harp, which is much more similar to the harp I'll be renting (no way am I flying with my harp) than mine is. Then laundry, packing, and off I go!

14 comments:

  1. Yes, a tatted hair piece would be just the perfect thing for the wedding. Have a safe trip and have fun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your barrette is beautiful! I hope you have fabulous weather for the wedding.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How beautiful! I love it and I know you will wear it well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Brilliant!! Your Pearl Tatted Barrette is very Elegant!! Enjoy the wedding and I hope you have beautiful weather for the event!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your hair accessory looks fabulous! What a neat idea using a barrette.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That piece is most elegant! However, I cannot figure out how you covered the surface... : (

    Have a great time with your family.
    Fox : )

    ReplyDelete
  7. Miranda, realmente BELLO. En tu cabello lucirá espectacular. Diviertete en la boda.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Personally I think you dd great! Have fun at the wedding :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Fox, it's like the "easy way" pearl tatting where you hold the core thread static and manipulate the two shuttles around it. In this case the barrette acts like the core thread. It's also sort of like covering a plastic ring, but with two shuttles.

    Don't worry, I'm thinking of doing a picture tutorial on it when I get back in town.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a lovely accessory! Lucky cousin to have you playing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is a fabulous barrette! :) You did an awesome job! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. A harpist! That's wonderful! You go about life seeing people every day, but never knowing the skills that they possess. I'm so impressed!

    The pin looks great! I'd also like to know how you did the wrapping of it 0.o

    (:

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks, Miranda! I get it!
    Hope you had a grand weekend.
    Fox : )

    ReplyDelete
  14. Such a beautiful barrette. I hope the wedding is just as beautiful and lovely with wonderful weather.

    ReplyDelete