Working with just the thread and Needle is a way to just make rings, This takes a lot of thread to work with. You will not see much Tatting with this method, but it is a good thing to learn just in case. See the Rings and Chains method and once you have mastered the DS (double stitches and Picots then you might want to try this method in case you should come across a pattern calling for it. Click here for the How To for Rings & Chains Method of Tatting.

This small doily was made using Needle and thread off the ball and also Thread cut off the ball.

Center rings can be made either using off the ball thread or cut off the ball. I use left over threads to make a lot of my center rings.

The first round is working with the thread cut off the ball, you can see the small rings are attached to the center ring with a 1/4" of thread left between the large rings. Using this method is just making rings and leaving a small bit of thread to join the next ring. This takes a lot of thread to work with.

The next round with rings and chains are working off the ball.

And the last Round is again working with just the thread cut off the ball, again you can see the 1/4" thread left between the small and large rings.