cluny help please!!!

Is there a trick to clunies that I'm not getting? I've tried a couple, but they long and skinny, not short and fat and pretty. I would love some help. Oh, and for when I finally do master it, when following pattern instructions for cluny leaves, when it tells you how many wraps, What counts as a wrap? Do i weave up and back down to count 1, or just one direction?

I count back and forth as 1 wrap.

To make them "fat" you need to have the two side threads of the "loom" quite separate, and make each wrap wider than the previous one for about 1/3 of the wraps so that at the end of those wraps you ahve the wdth you want, then make another third of the wraps with the same width, and then make them narrower until the 3 threads are togethter for the last 1/3 of the wraps. Also, close it carefully so you bunch the wraps together a bit when you close it.

Hope that helps - clunies take practice!

One thing that helps to make the leaves plump up is to wrap the whole leaf and then move the upper thread on the right side of the ring finger to the pinkie after you complete the frame. This widens the angle of the right side thread and helps you to widen the leaf.

The frame for the leaf should always be under tension. It takes some practice, but the practice is well worth the trouble.

When I need to touch up my leaves, I just make one leaf after another until they are more consistently plump. When the process clicks in your head (and in your fingers) you will just fly through the leaves.

These are the things that help make your clunies plump and full.

The shape of the cluny is a series of a triangle that starts at a point (the wraps get wider by the width of a thread on both sides), a square (all the complete wraps are equal length), and a final triangle (the wraps get narrower by the width of a thread on both sides).

If the number of wraps are the same in both triangles and the square, you will get a nice plump leaf.

To review

ALWAYS have the frame under tension. I think this is the hardest part. Just keep at it and it will become easier.

The shape of a leaf is a triangle, a square and then another triangle. The first triangle starts at a point and increases, the last triangle starts at the width of the square and tapers to a point.

I use about 6 complete wraps (right to left and left to right) for each triangle and the square.

If the middle finger loop of the frame starts to come loose, pull the bottom most thread of the loom from left to right. That will tighten the middle finger loop.

My New Year's resolution is to master the cluny leaf. Thanks, Patty D, for the directions.

Janet, don't fret!

Most of us have tried our hands at tallies (cluny tatting), which is not actually tatting per se.

Are you trying to make the tallies on your hands or on a 'loom' of cardboard or plastic? You should find the loom will free both your hands to manage the shuttle thread. Once you have wound the ball thread through the slots, place the loom on a flat surface (table). Use a pencil to raise all the threads above the surface of the cardboard, like the bridge of a violin.

As you weave each 'pass' (forward + backward) DO NOT TURN the shuttle around midstream. Keep it facing the same way. Then use the tip of the shuttle to pack the woven threads down upon each other. For an average-sized tally (depending on the thickness of your thread), 8-10 passes will pack down nicely.

With practice you'll master tallies in no time!!

Here's a great photo tutorial for making the cluny leaf on your hand: http://home.netcom.com/%7Entrop/cluny/instruct.htm

I myself had a lesson in person for this technique. However, now I want to try Judith's suggestion for doing it on a loom! It seems less likely to produce arthritis.

Once you try the loom you'll have both hands free. The slits in the edge of the cardboard help to maintain the tension on the thread. If you'd like a hard copy of a modified plan and the directions for use, leave your postal address in my email.

For the creative folk: tallies/cluny leaves/wheat ears can replace some split rings in patterns.