Corina's Crown, Take Two

Crown tatted by IsDihara, February 2014

Can you believe the mistake with Corina's Crown was staring me in the face and I didn't see it?

Crowns tatted by Corina van Krieken, April 2013

Chalk it up to stitch count error, not a botched technique.  The hat band section of the diagram clearly shows three groups of four (4) stitches for rows one and two.  I tatted three groups of six (6) so of course I got a misshapen chapeau. Recalibrated stitch counts fixed the problem and the crown tatted up a treat.

No idea why I thought Corina's perfectly written 4's were 6's.  I had an easy point of comparison in the sixes Corina wrote for the top of the crown. I make these mistakes so you don't have to!

It was fun trying out the other methods of block tatting so I call this a win-win learning experience with a regal crown to show for my efforts.

Motif 3: Corina's Crown

The first Tatting Tea Tuesday in February dawned with a desire to tat a golden crown.  So off I zoom through the pixels and bits of Pinterest to find Corina from the Nethlands' lovely design:  Tatting Crown - free pattern.

Here is a photo of Corina's crowns.

Crowns tatted by Corina van Krieken, April 2013

Here is my first attempt.

Crown tatted by IsDihara, February 2014

Motif 3 - Corina's Crown
Crown tatted using the Lock Stitch method of block tatting.  Thread choice is Lizbeth^® 20 Gold #611.

In recent years I have grown used to my results more closely matching the pattern photo, so this crown came as a bit of a surprise.

Don't get me wrong. It is a very nice crown. But mine does not mirror the tight brow band or the regal height of Corina's crowns. The stitch count is exactly the same.

This is precisely why I love tatting.  Two people can tat the same thing and get slightly different-looking results. Hmmm, what to do if I want more Corina-esque crowns?

Martha Ess provides the answer for the base. Try a different method of block tatting.

Martha's book "Holidays on the Block" describes four methods of block tatting and shares the advantages and disadvantages of each one. My first attempt uses the lock stitch method (The one with which I am most familiar.) As for the rest, I need to tat a few more crowns to get the exact look that I like.

This crown is very pretty.  But the quibbler in me wants to sample techniques to see if I can get the same look as Corina did with her crowns.  Besides, this crown took no time at all to tat so why not tat a few more?

I will update this post with attempts 2 and 3 as I squeeze them in around (the dreaded) household chores and Day 11 of TIAS.  Stay tuned or check back for progress!

Wishing you all blissful me time to create something beautiful. See you next Tuesday for more communi-tea!