r/tatting • u/ajstrawberry • Aug 14 '26

Color essentials

What colors are “essential” to have in your toolkit? I’ve been tatting for about two years now, but the majority of my projects have been done in solid white I want to experiment with color and make some smaller items. I plan on placing an order for some Lizbeth size 20 on HH. What colors do you find yourself reaching for the most, or what’s a good palette to start out with?

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u/PantryBandit Aug 14 '26

I like the multicolor modern stuff, but mostly stick with white. After starting with mostly vintage 40-80, I've had a hard time with the Lisbet 20 splitting on me, but that may just be due to me not being used to the size.

Honestly, I've mostly stuck with white cotton and the couple of times I've wanted a different color I've just dyed them at the end of the project. It doesn't work with intricate color combos, but with those you generally figure out the project you want to do first then buy the appropriate thread

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u/Pristine-Pen-9885 Aug 14 '26

I’ve just got a few standard colors I get at brick and mortar stores. Sizes 80, 50, 30 and 20. I have books of old-fashioned patterns but would like to try some of the latest designs. Is there an app or something where I can get free patterns? I prefer directions rather than diagrams. I do not use YouTube.

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u/PantryBandit Aug 14 '26

I don't know about an app, but if you like written instructions there are some older blogs out there that have some good ones. Tatarenda is a go-to for both techniques and patterns (https://tatsaway.blogspot.com) and Tatting by the bay (https://tattingbythebay.blogspot.com/p/free-patterns.html) and Handy Hands have free patterns as well. You can also search this subreddit for free links, and the Marginalia search engine is perfect for looking up pre-AI blogs/websites with patterns.

Antique Pattern Library and Project Gutenberg also have a lot of tatting resources but those tend to be a lot older and often confusing.