Are you hoping to start a new hobby that involves a needle and a thread? Crocheting and tatting are a large part of the craft industry and can be excellent skills to learn. But how do they differ?
Using our creativity and hand-eye coordination skills to create something from scratch reduces stress, stimulates the brain, and offers many other mental and physical benefits. Let’s explore some of the main differences between crocheting and tatting.
What Is Tatting?
Tatting involves various techniques to create intricate designs using thread, fabric, and other tools. There are a few different types of tatting, including:
- Shuttle tatting: This type is perhaps the original—and most historically known—version of tatting, as we may see evidence of tatting in sailors’ work. Shuttle tatting uses a hand lace technique that ties double stitch knots onto a ring-shaped thread, forming a lacy material.
- Needle tatting: Needle tatting focuses more on the decorative aspect of needlework and requires meticulous details on the lace trims.
- Cro-tatting: Cro-tatting fuses the techniques of both tatting and crocheting together to create specific knotwork. One might utilize a crochet hook to create designs for this type of tatting.
You make many items using the art of tatting like fine thread jewelry, wedding veils, Christmas ornaments, baby booties, and more.
What Is Crocheting?
Crocheted items are often made using loop-like construction and vibrant threads. The general crocheting technique typically involves interlocking loops of thread or yarn with a crochet hook. You can create a chain of loops to build your block slowly; however, different types of crochet include:
- Single crochet
- Half double crochet
- Double crochet
- Triple crochet
The differences between the different types of crochet are the number of chains interlocked within them.
Differences: Small yet Mighty
Items that were tatted and crocheted may look similar to an untrained eye. While tatting does use a crochet hook for detailed designs, it’s quite different from crochet techniques overall.
Tatting entails more complex designs that contain delicate threading and involves making rows of curved stitches using a thin needle. In contrast, crochet uses a hook to create precise designs through a series of loops pulled through each other.
While the designs might look similar, it’s crucial to remember their differences and avoid pairing them together as one technique. If you’re interested in learning tatting, you might benefit from purchasing tatting needles for sale that can help you get started.
When starting this new hobby, you must consider the main differences between crocheting and tatting to ensure you learn the proper techniques.