Leader Publications

Tatting is strong in the family of Shirley Mae Woods, of Niles.

Woods learned it from her mother, Neta Chapman Shugars, who learned it from her mother, Rena Dell Myers.

Now, Woods is attempting to teach tatting to the rest of us.

Woods’ new book “Tatting, Mom’s Tat Collection,” contains everything needed to know about tatting, a technique for handcrafting knotted lace or thread.

Andrews University Printing published 100 of her books last week.

“I didn’t do it to make money. I did it to honor my mother because she spent her whole life doing this,” said Woods, a Niles native.

Woods’ father, Clifford Shugars, was a popular Niles dentist known as Dr. Shugars.

Tatting is done with thread and a tatting shuttle, which can be difficult to find.

Woods said tatting is the act of making a tat, or design, with knotted thread. Tats can take the shape of a flower, butterfly or any other imaginable shape. Tats can be  added to greeting cards, made into stickers or placed onto paper and framed as a picture.

The book contains pictures of 113 tats and instructions on how to create each of them. It also includes a short history of tatting and how tatting began in the Woods family.

Woods’ mother had a notebook filled with her patterns for tats. Much of the information found in Woods’ book comes from those notebooks. Woods said her mother began tatting at age 7 and spent most of her free time tatting.

“I’ve dedicated this to my mom, of course — it’s her collection — and I’ve got a picture of her in it,” said Woods, a retired registered nurse.

Purchase a copy of Woods’ book online at tattingtatsplus.com