an angel to bring hope and love

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Italiano: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eXd1V9wCXnMQMN_A1XxxvhUzTptFCKiN/view 

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A previously unnamed and unpublished angel pattern I drew in 2012 has now been revised and corrected, thanks to my PIC Muskaan, who helped me and proofread the PDF, and thanks also for a wonderful initiative that gave me the opportunity to rediscover this forgotten pattern. You can find the pattern in both Italian and English. Here are the links to the two PDF versions:

Angelo Lia, Italian version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KntC2p3UkZq8hQ1vEz7vmIAFCJ6AqeN9/view?usp=drivesdk  

Angelo Leah, English version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cIY84JtmY3__tA5CpvQQpKFss90lLynM/view?usp=drivesdk 

I experimented with some interesting effects and techniques, something new to me in 2012, such as the large thrown off rings with dimples for the wings, the Long Picot Join used to make the arms, and a long double picot used to make the halo. I honestly don't remember if I was trying something I'd seen before, but Muskaan helped me organize, suggested the right names for the techniques (that I ignored in 2012) and even added links to tutorials for a few steps. She is the best!

For the large rings, I used a method described here: “Working with Large Rings by Patty Dowden 2013”, a Tutorial prepared by Muskaan for the #Endrucks1920Project: https://drive.google.com/file/d/161D5JeEPk4u_d6Pu6uAsaWjTTLzff4Fj/view

The “Long Picot Join” was described in a tutorial by Muskaan in her blog, here: https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2017/03/marigolds-in-row.html  (look for “joining to adjacent flower : ( pictorial B)” )

In the next, I will tell you what prompted me to publish the pattern.

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Tamie Montgomery, who leads "The Online Tatting Class Founded by Georgia Seitz", has launched the "Heavenly Angels Challenge" in support of the "Angel Tree", a charity initiative promoted by the Salvation Army (an international organization), which helps parents in need give their children the Christmas gifts they desire. Children's names are usually written on paper angels and hung on Christmas trees at locations where donations are collected. TOTC's Challenge consists of tatting and donating angels, which are then kept as gifts for the donors or gifted to children. In the United States, the angels should be sent to the Palmetto Tatters Guild.

Anyone here in Italy can bring their Angels to any paediatric hospital, church, or charity, clearly specifying the purpose, or donate it to the families in need. Tamie writes:

“The hope is to help the children that are either underprivileged or entering a stage in their life that no parent wants to face alone. We hope it brings hope and love to everyone that is touched by an Angel tatted and donated. “

"The Heavenly Angels Challenge", as the initiative is called, begins by tatting 5 angels and then nominating 5 tatters who will each send their 5 angels, who in turn will nominate 5 more tatters, and so on, in a chain that will hopefully produce many more angels.

All the information on how to participate can be found on this page: https://www.theonlinetattingclass.com/tatting-angels-tribute 

The list of available patterns is on the same page, where you are also invited to participate as a designer.

For this noble purpose, Muskaan and I, on behalf of the Endrucks 1920 Project, have offered all the angel patterns available in the #Endrucks1920Project. Muskaan talked about it in her blog a few days ago: https://tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.com/2026/07/angels-needed.html 

Additionally, I can personally contribute offering the pattern shared in this post and another, the angel Ariel, which you can find here: https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-pattern-under-tree.html

 

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I thank Tamie and The Online Tatting Class so much for this initiative. I hope many tatting angels will be sent and that many children and donors will appreciate and keep the tangible memory of this gesture of generosity.

Ciao, Ninetta

a lovely angel

I found this cute angel in Pinterest, a picture with numbers on it, I could not resist tatting it, it's so lovely!

Designed by Patrizia Pirocca. My first version has been tatted with a size 70 thread:

I tatted it again in DMC Cebelia n.10:

Chao
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuelan_Spanish )
Ninetta

a pattern under the tree

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UPDATE (May 2020): this angel has a name! Thanks to some Facebook's friends, especially to Emanuela Ranieri.
Her name is "Ariel"
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It's worked with 2 shuttles, filled with two threads, pink 100% pure silk (seta Faro n.3) and DMC n.283 silver metallic thread (3 strands). That resulted about a size 10 thickness, but I've used the same pattern with a size 70 cotton thread.

The dress start from the neck, all external rings and split rings have a picot, tatting proceeds in a "S" wave, swapping first and second shuttle. Don't cut ends but leave a long tails in both. I left 20cm.

(post edited to update this picture with a better quality image)

Better a summary?

Wings are tatted separately:

Cut and tie the ends. Start the second wing, connecting the first row to the other wing.

The dress is closed in the back, using the long ends. How many ways to lace up your shoes? That's mine!

But there's the wings, so BEFORE the second last fastening, join wings in two points, as showed by those arrows: untie (not showed in the picture) join the bottom part of wings, then tie the second last picots, then join the middle picot of wings, then tie the last picots of the dress.

That's the result:

Then, to keep the "head" in the middle, I took one of the ends and passed through the central picot of the neck:

That's now the time for the head. I inserted both ends in a wooden bead, then added a sort of aureole as a little ring, 10 picots separated by 1ds, leaving a tail of about 10cm. I've inserted that tail from up to down, inside the head and the dress, joined a transparent plastic bead and anchored head and bead with a couple of knots. I passed inside the little ring the long tail coming from the dress.

That's where you may want to add a weight (a heavy bead) or a jingly bell charm!

Here it is, standing up and also dangling from my hand:

Buon Natale! Merry Christmas!
I'll be back with the new year. Happy holidays!
Ninetta 

UPDATE July 2026: I offered the pattern shared in this post to the "The Heavenly Angels Challenge" (https://www.theonlinetattingclass.com/tatting-angels-tribute) 
and also another one, the angel Leah, which you can find here: https://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2026/07/an-angel-to-bring-hope-and-love.html
 

strength is in little things

It keep itself standing up, without any stiffener. It is soft white dmc cotton, size 70, the pattern is that one in previous post, still to be refined. I should tat a couple more, what do you think about one pink and another light blue?

I think its strength come from its short size. I doubt that an higher cone would have supported the weight of the wings and of the pearl used as head.

Have you ever seen an angel from this inconvenient perspective?

Between an angel and the other, I finished the Morimoto's doily (http://ninettacaruso.blogspot.com/2015/06/glutton.html), I found the right colour number at the craft fair in October, so also Mr. Meticulous will be happy for Christmas!!


Ciao,
Ninetta.

What makes it an angel

What it lacks is more than what it has. Wings, of course. Skirt, possibly.

Pattern can't claim originality, but has not been copied and wasn't a miracle as it came out after many trials! One of the first attemps was starting from a doily, like that paper angels that I saw here: http://couturecraft.blogspot.com/2010/11/paper-angels.html  
But my first angel was misshapen, by all means I did something wrong, so I thought it was better tatting 3 parts. The cool angel next year!

Thread is metallic silver dmc 283, size 70, the angel is 4cm high. Body and wings are tatted separately.
I tatted it with cotton, too. I should show you.

Ciao,
Ninetta