Handspun for Tatting

My continued exploration of plying has begged the question of shuttle tatting with hand spun.  Tatting thread needs to be strong and resistant to fraying, since there is a lot of friction and tension on the tread as you work the rings. I figured you could us regular 2 or 3 ply yarn with needle tatting since it creates a looser ring, but I don't needle tat.

So I un-plyied some 20 cordonnet thread, which I assumed was more like braid, but its 6 ply spun as three 2ply strands are plyed into one thread. I tried it out, plying three lengths of yarn and then plying them together.




I tatted a ring with it and its strong and isn't too fuzzy.  It worked great. I over spun the 2 plys to make sure it held together during the last ply.

Now, I have to consider spinning very fine singles to bring the finished size of the yarn down, though I do want it to be thicker that 20 cordonnet.  I have some design ideas that will use thicker thread.