Just for the hell of it, I thought I’d try tatting with some cotton I originally bought to crochet with. It’s very smooth and looked like it would slide easily enough (something you need for tatting), so seemed worth a little experiment. I’ve always liked the idea of tatting with other threads – in the past I’ve tatted with different types of sock yarn, but the picots can end up looking a bit messy as the strands of thread come apart.
This is 4 ply Rowan cotton, and actually it tats up pretty well. In this photo you can see a full motif in fine Finca thread, which I made some time ago, and half of the same motif in cotton. So far, the half motif has taken up two shuttles, and I stopped as I needed to wind on a third. (For the non-tatters out there, the smaller motif was created with the thread from one shuttle).
It’s a Mary Konior pattern, which I really like, and part of the experiment was to see if it would be suitable to make into a scarf. The answer…? Well, sort of. It’s actually a little big – if you hold it up to your neck, it’ll reach from your collar bone to your chin. It’s a bit too large, really – and is quite thick so I’m not sure how comfortable it would be to wear, it wouldn’t drape that well. More than that though – the THIRD SHUTTLE and it’s only part way through! It’s great practise for joining in new threads, but just as you think you’re getting somewhere, you’ve run out of thread again.
I don’t think I’ll finish it, which I feel a bit bad about, but it’s such nice thread I don’t really want to waste it. It was worth the experiment though. Maybe I’ll look around for a smaller motif…
Occasional Crafter 
It would be a shame not to finish it because it looks lovely. Maybe you could use it in another project if not for a scarf. Hm, part of a cushion cover maybe? Or if you do quilting would you be able to work it into a block?
I tried tatting with big thread when I was first learning, in fact it was the same type you used but in a bright turquoise. It was in the early hours of the morning when I’d made the decision to learn and so had no access to shuttles/thread and so I grabbed the next best thing and tried finger tatting. I tried it on the shuttle the next day and noticed the problem you mention here… it doesn’t last long before you’ve run out.
I think it’s gorgeous! I am rather taken with the idea of tatting – I love watching people use the shuttle – but have no idea of where to start myself. I’m putting it on my to-do list…