A practical application for tatting?

As I mentioned earlier, I'm a member of the SCA (www.sca.org ~or~ www.calontir.org).  One of the things I love about the SCA is the "educational excuse" for playing dress-up.  Oh sure, it's a "historical re-enactment" and the clothing should strive to be "period appropriate"...  But I get to design and make my own clothing based on what ideas I've found and like.  Best part is, when I'm done making my masterpieces, I get to wear them amongst other people who can appreciate the work that goes into it.  And yes, I'll admit, I'm the type of person that will (and has) gotten all dressed up in a 14th century Venetian Courtesan gown, and traipsed through the aisles of JoAnn's just for kicks. :)

Anyway, I'm working on another Venetian dress, and this time, I've got a new idea for the trim.  Rather than spending my money on someone else's work, I'm going to put my own tatting on it.  My current idea is to put a large pattern on the kickplate of the skirt (done in black yarn, so each motif is approximately 3" tall and stands out well against the dark red), and use the same motif in smaller sizes of yarn and thread to trim the bodice, and make a matching choker.  So far- I'm liking the idea so much that sitting at my desk at work is driving me nuts- I want to be sewing or tatting!

One of my preferred motifs right now is the following:

Each of these little hexagons is about an inch tall.  Needless to say, I've got a lot of tatting ahead of me.  The bonus is that this pattern is all rings- no chains.  Why is that a bonus?  Because I have 4 cats.  And as they demonstrated to me this morning, there IS no safe place to hide a ball of string.  They WILL find it.  And drag it all over the house- around every table leg and chair leg, and even up and down multiple sets of stairs.  By not having any chains in this design, I don't NEED to have a ball of string out, it's all on the shuttle, and the cats are (for the time being) thwarted. So there. Nyah.