This tatted nativity scene will rapidly become an essential partof your holiday celebrations.

Tatted Nativity Scene

Materials Needed:

Size 20 Tatting thread: 5 colorsSize 80 Tatting thread: 1 color (for star)2 shuttles55 seed beads to match color chosen for Angel

Black sewing thread (for eyelids/eyelashes)Backing fabricEmbroidery hoop for hanging/displayThread for couching motifs to backing fabric

© 2010 Jenni Sherriff

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2 LBP - 15 beads64

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Picot 1/2" long(1" when flat)

3/4 inch long picot, joinedback into ring (double picot)

LBP - 15 beads

The Angel Gabriel

Body:R: 2ds, LBP (15 beads), 1ds, join LBP back to R, 7ds, 6p (1/2" long when folded) separated by 1ds, 7ds,LBP (15 beads), 1ds, join LBP back to R, 2ds, clR: 6ds, p (at least 3/4" long when stretched), 4ds, join p back into R (double picot), 6ds, cl, cut and tie

Before starting skirt, thread 25 beads on ball thread.Skirt:R1: 8ds, join to 6th long picot of body, 4ds, p, 4ds, cl, rwCh1: 3ds, 5 beads separated by 2ds, 3ds, rwR2: 4ds, join to r1, 4ds, join to 5th long picot of body, 4ds, p, 4ds, cl, rwRepeat Ch1 and R2 three more timesCh1R3: 4ds, join to picot of previous ring, 4ds, join to final long picot of body, 8ds, cl, cut and tie

© 2010 Jenni Sherriff

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Eye -- tatted of blacksewing thread

The Christ Child -- Swaddled

For head: Make circle of block tatting, joining with a catherine wheel join every 4 ds, till spheremeasures 1/2 inch in diameter. Make elp (at least 3/4 inch before doubling), 3ds, catherine wheel join,join elp back to chain (making halo), continue block tatting till almost directly across from halo, 5 vsp(should barely be big enough for joining) separated by 1ds, 1ds, cut, thread core thread through previousrow of ds then tie off.

Body:Round 1: 10 bds, 3 ds, vsp, 3ds, 10 bds, cl r, fasten to center p of head with lock join, lock join to next pover. Do not leave thread space between lock joins.

Rounds 2&3: 16 ds (or whatever is necessary to reach center p), join to p of previous r, vsp, 16ds (finishround), lock join to p nearest center ring, lock join to next p, rw, tat around to p, join, finish 3rd round,join to final p and tie off. (If your picots are too big there may be a gap between layers. If that happens,lock join to the previous picot on that side of the mock onion ring then to the picots indicated for thatround so that the layers remain close together.)

To make eyes: with black sewing thread make 2 ds, 5p separated by 1ds, 2ds, pull tight enough foreyelid to curl. Clip picots then saturate with fray check. Sew to head when dry.

© 2010 Jenni Sherriff

tatting up the first tail

Tatting down the second tail

Tatting the legs of the manger:

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15 rows block tatting

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Tat over shuttle 1 threadfor first 8 stitches, shuttle 2thread for second 8 stitches

Tat over shuttle 1 end threadfor first 8 stitches, shuttle 2end thread for second 8 stitches

Make sure to leave a 6-8 inch tail on each shuttle thread. It will be needed later.The slant of the block tatting seen in the diagram is created by pulling the upper left corner out as thepiece is couched to the base fabric.

Main body:Row 1: ls, vsp, 15 ds, ls, ssRows 2-14: vsp, 15 ds, lj to vsp of previous row, ls, ssRow 15: 15 ds, lj to vsp of previous row, rw, do not ss

End Piece:R1: 8ds, p, 8ds, cl, rwch: 8ds, place marker, 4 ds, rwR2: 7ds, remove marker in previous chain and join to space remaining, 5 ds, j to p in r1, 5 ds, p, 7ds, cl,ss, rwR3: 2ds, p, 2ds, cl, ssCh: 5ds, j to p of R2 with a catherine wheel join, 8ds, place marker, 5ds, rwR4: 6ds, remove marker in previous chain and join to space remaining, 6ds, j to p in r1, 12ds, cl, cut andtie, leaving 6-8 inch tails

Legs:Separated beginning tails. Holding one tail by the end and holding it parallel to the shuttle thread, tat 8ds, wrapping core thread. Slide ds up core thread till they are tight against the body of the manger.Leave that tail and tat 8 ds more, wrapping the second beginning tail. Be careful not to leave a spacebetween the two sets of 8 ds. Seal each end with fray check then cut all threads. Repeat process withthe tails left at the end of the work.

The Christ-child's Manger

Red picots in diagram are droppicots. Pattern is written with theold-fashioned method of placing amarker in the stitches. Feel freeto make your drop picot withvictorian sets if you like, justadjust the pattern accordingly.

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© 2010 Jenni Sherriff

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Red rings indicate split ringsBlue rings indicate regular ringsClunies are in purple

Except for upper corners (H, FF) which are 14/6,all rings are 10-10 and all split rings are 10/10All clunies are 15 wraps.

The Stable at Bethlehem

Split rings A-G: SR 10/10Split ring H: 14/6Cluny I: 15 wrapsRing J: 10ds, join to space between ring F and ring G, 10ds, clRing K: 10ds, p, 10ds, clCluny L: 15 wrapsRing M: 10ds, join to space where ring H and cluny I meet, 10ds, clSplir Ring N: 10/10Cluny ORing P: 10 ds, join to p of ring k, 10ds, clRing Q: 10ds, p, 10ds, clCluny RRing S: 10ds, join to space where Ring N and Cluny O meet, 10ds, clSplit Ring T: 10/10Cluny URing V: 10 ds, join to p of ring Q, 10ds, clRing W: 10ds, p, 10ds, clCluny XRing Y: 10ds, join to space where Ring N and Cluny O meet, 10ds, clSplit Ring Z: 10/10Cluny AARing BB: 10 ds, join to p of ring k, 10ds, clRing CC: 10ds, p, 10ds, clCluny DDRing EE: 10ds, join to space where Ring N and Cluny O meet, 10ds, clSplit Ring FF: 14/6Split Ring GG: 10/10, cl, lj to Ring CC keeping knot as close to Ring GG as possibleSplit Rings HH-MM: 10/10, cut and tie after MM

© 2010 Jenni Sherriff

Star of Bethlehem2 243

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Rays created by beginningand ending threads

2p2 ring takes some manipulationto close properly. Be careful.

In order for the star to be in the proper proportion to the other pieces, it must be tatted in a much smallerthread. I used a size 80 here.

Leave at least 8 inch tails when beginning, they will be needed later.R1: 5ds, p, 5ds, cl*SR1: 3/4, clSR2: 4/3, clR2: 2ds, p, 2ds, clSR3: 4/3 Take care that no thread space is left between R2 and SR3SR4: 3/4, clR3: 5ds, j to p of R1, 5ds, cl*

Repeat between *s 4 times thenSR1: 3/4, clSR2: 4/3, clR2: 2ds, p, 2ds, clSR3: 4/3, cl Take care that no thread space is left between R2 and SR3SR4: 3/4, cl Cut and tie, leaving 6-8 inches of thread

When couching star onto the base fabric, securely sew down all 5 points and then sew the tails downwith an embroidery backstitch to create the rays of light coming from the base of the star.

© 2010 Jenni Sherriff

Couching down thesplit rings

Tat all motifs before beginning final assembly. If the fabric you have chosen for a background is thin orof loose weave then you may want to reinforce it with fusible interfacing before beginning the couchingprocess as the tension needed to make stitches disappear will pull the threads of the fabric and createholes. Place the fabric in the embroidery hoop and lay out the pieces as desired, marking where each isto go. Sew the baby on first, then the manger. Third should be the stable. The star at the top and theangel should be saved for last, when you can get the star perfectly centered. Make sure the tails of thestar are at the bottom. Finally, thread each tail of the star through a sewing needle and create the rays bybackstitching down a couple inches as demonstrated in the diagram below.

A hint for couching the pieces down: the split rings in this pattern are small and may be couched bycatching the bit of thread in between halves of the ring. For other pieces, bring the needle up and downbetween double stitches, picots are especially convenient for placing couching stitches. When you pullthe thread tight it will pop down between the double stitches of the tatting and will become virtuallyinvisible.

Final Assembly

Create the rays of the starby backstitching

Couching by stitching in betweendouble stitches. Pull thread tightand stitch disappears