Dora Young
1915-1991
Dora Young was born in Portland Maine. She learned to tat while in high school. Some years later in 1955 during a period of poor health she picked it up once more and set a 20 year goal to provide new tatting patterns for tatters. Dora was an extrodinary tatter. She was the only tatter to ever patent a tatting technique. She called it the "knotless method chain." Her patent was approved in 1973. In 1974 she published her patented technique along with 21 original designs in a book called "All New Knotless Tatting Designs." Today her technique is referred to as the split chain. She also wrote an article on tatting and it's history in a book published by The House of White Birches, Inc. In 1982. This article also showed a few of her shuttles and tatting patterns.
All New Knotless Tatting Designs
Dora Young's book was published in 1974 and is currently out of print. It contains twenty-one original tatting designs by Dora Young using her patented technique of knotless tatting. The patterns have a variety of uses as doilies, edgings, pot holders and many motifs to use in any number of applications. A limited amount of her original books are available from the following web site. Dora's Book.
Artwork with Tatting
Dora loved to go to craft shows to sell her book, stationery and things she made. She also crochet afghans and other items. Along with tatting shuttles she also collected the artwork with tatting used on stationery that other people sold. Many women bought "tats" (small pieces of tatting) from Dora for this reason. Dora's Artwork with Tatting Collection.
These are a samples of some Mytle Hamilton's Christmas stationery.
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Tatting Shuttles
Dora Young started collecting tatting shuttles in1967. To see some of her special shuttles visit Dora's Shuttle Page.
Things made by Dora
Among the things I received of Dora's were three tatted doilies on boards wraped with saran and a handmade pocketed book cover. (For all those conservators out there, I have since removed the boards and plasic from the tatting.) The tatting was for display and book cover she most likely sold at the craft fairs she attended. Pictures change on mouseover.
Dora's Butterfly Collection
Click on the numbers below to see Dora butterfly collection.
