shuttle, tatting
Object
Accession Number
2008.005.279Description
A wooden Mauchline ware tatting shuttle with a coloured printed tartan surface. "M'Lean" printed in gold letters on one side, the interior with a wooden post.Narrative
"Mauchline ware" is a term given to a type of small wooden souvenir items made near the town of Mauchline, Ayrshire, Scotland in the 19th Century. The town is about 12 kilometers from Hurlford, the birthplace of Robert Dunsmuir. This example is decorated in the tartan of the Clan MacLean.
Tatting is a form of lace work made up of chains and loops of fine knots. Thread or cord is wound around the centre of the tatting shuttle and fed out through the end. The maker holds the shuttle in one hand and uses it and the fingers of the opposite hand to twist the thread into a series of knots. When a long enough chain of knots has been completed, it is joined into a loop and a new chain is begun. Multiple shuttles may be used to create more complex designs and unknotted loops of thread, called picots, are often added for decoration.
Developed in the early 19th century, tatting quickly became popular due to its durability and the simplicity of both technique and supplies required. It is commonly used as edging or as doilies.
