Last week, I sat down with Sandie, who works in our Customer Sales and Service department, to teach her how to tat. She’d been watching the video for the “Loops & lace” project in our October issue, but wanted a little hands-on help to get her started.

Sandie decided to start with a practice piece, rather than try to make the necklace right away, since it takes a little practice to make the stitches even and neat. She started with #20 crochet cotton and some size 6 seed beads. The beads were easy to string, and Sandie had them on the thread and ready to go in a nice symmetrical pattern when we got together. But when she came to see us this week and show off her progress, she wasn’t sure if she’d gotten the hang of it. It turns out she was doing just fine, but it was hard to see what was happening due to the size difference between her beads and thread. She’s going to try again this weekend with a different thread and beads, but her experience pointed out a few things I’d like to pass along to other beginners:

• Choose a nice thick thread to start with, at least a #8 crochet cotton. If you have a #5 thread available, even better. I learned to tat using Kreinik #8 metallic embroidery thread. The spools aren’t long enough to make the “Loops & lace” necklace, but the thread is a little stiff and springy, so you can clearly see every stitch you make. For the actual necklace shown in the magazine, I used the #5 "Splendor" silk thread from Rainbow Gallery that’s on the materials list in the resource guide. This thread also kept its shape well, and it felt really great on my fingers as I worked.

• Choose beads that are proportionate to the thread, but still easy to string. Size 8 or 11 seed beads are your best bet for getting started. I wouldn’t go much larger or smaller, since it will be more difficult to see your pattern.

• Use beads of a single color, or string the beads in a simple, symmetrical pattern. Using a single color helps you focus on technique and keeping track of the pattern. If you use multiple colors, keep it basic. Let’s say, for example, you wanted to use blue and green beads in your practice piece. You’d want to use an odd number of beads for the rings and the chains. You could string an alternating pattern of three greens for the rings and three blues for the chains, or you could string green-blue-green for the rings and blue-green-blue for the chains. Either way, you have the colors there as a cue, letting you know when to finish your rings or chains, and showing you how even your stitches are.