Tatting Abbreviations
from Gillian Buchanan at BellaOnLine

+

Join

LS

Lock Stitch (make 1st half of DS unflipped, then make 2nd half of DS as normal)

-

Picot

MR

Usually means Mock Ring (formed by making a chain joining back onto itself to form what appears to be a ring), but can mean Medium Ring

+

Join

NT

Needle Tatting

Symbol for picot join to which subsequent picot joins are made

Node Stitch

A type of Victorian Set, developed by Elgiva Nicholls - at a very basic level, 2 x 1st half of double stitch followed by 2 x 2nd half of double stitch

++

Sometimes used to mean a beaded picot in which bead is slipped onto picot then picot is joined to.

Number (e.g. 2, 3, 4)

Number of Stitches per section (usually double knots but may be different if spiral stitch etc is being used)

=

Equals (sometimes used to mean the picot to which an adjacent motif will be joined)

O

2nd half of double stitch

Picot

OR

Outer Ring

--

Medium Length Picot

OU

Reverse double stitch (done when doing front side/back side tatting - make 2nd half of double stitch then 1st half - you will do this when working with the back side facing you).

---

Long Picot

P

Picot

Adj

Adjacent

PCh

Previous Chain

B

Bead

PIR

Previous Inner Ring

Beg

Beginning

PLR

Previous Large Ring

Betw

Between

POR

Previous Outer Ring

BP

Beaded Picot

PR

Previous Ring

C

Chain

Prev

Previous

Ch

Chain

PSR

Previous Small Ring (or previous Split Ring depending on date of pattern and circumstances in which being worked)

CP

Cluny Picot

QHS

Quadruple Victorian Set (4 x 1st half of double stitch, 4 x 2nd half of double stitch worked in sequence).

CR

Central Ring, Cabone Ring

R

Ring

CTM

Continuous Thread Method (wind shuttle without cutting thread from ball, or wind two shuttles without cutting the thread between them)

RDS

Done when working front side/back side tatting, with back side facing you - do 2nd half of double stitch followed by 1st half in sequence.

dbl k

Double Knot

Rem

Remaining

DHS

Double half-hitch set, formed by working 1st half of double stitch twice, second half of double stitch twice.

Rep

Repeat

DNC

Do Not Cut

Resp

Respectively

DNRW

Do Not Reverse Work

RLHK

Reverse Lark's Head Knot - done when working the second half of a split ring with the back side facing in front side/back side tatting. Work the LHK with 2nd half then 1st half.

DR

Dimpled Ring

Rnd

Round

DK

Double Knot

RW

Reverse Work - may mean to flip work from top to bottom, or turn like a cartwheel depending on the circumstances. The term "Turn" is also used to mean Reverse Work in some early books.

DS

Double Stitch

SC

Split Chain

FTJ

Free Thread Join

SCMR

Self Closing Mock Ring

FTS

Free thread space

P

Picot

IC

Inner Circle

Sep

Separated

IR

Inner Ring

SH

Shuttle

J

Join

SR

Before 1985 means Small Ring, after 1985 usually (but not always - look at picture for context) means Split Ring.

JK

Josephine Knot

SLT

Shoe Lace Trick

Jn

Join

SS

Switch Shuttles

JR

Josephine Ring (same thing as Josephine Knot)

SShs

Switch Shuttles (alternative abbreviation)

LH

Left hand, can also mean Lark's Head

ST

Stitch, also Shoe Lace Trick (alternative abbreviation)

LHK

Lark's Head Knot (the type of knot you make when doing the unflipped side of a split ring)

Sts

Stitches

LHT

Left Hand Thread

THS

Triple Victorian Set (1st half of DS three times, 2nd half of DS three times in sequence).

LJ

Lock Join

Turn

Can mean Reverse Work, can mean rotate like a cartwheel. Depends on context.

LHWC

Left hand wrap colour

U

1st half of double stitch; the stitch made when you drop the loop to put the shuttle down through it.

LHWT

Left hand wrap thread

UO

DS (a formal way of writing out the way the DS is made; used in some advanced Node Stitch and Victorian Sets work)

LOC

Loop over connection

UTS

Unworked thread space; may also be called bare thread.

LP

Long Picot

XP

Extended picot, usually measured.

LR

Large Ring

VS

Victorian Sets

Wsh

Working Shuttle