Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. gathering old rags.

1859, 1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1935		X. Petulengro Romany Life 132: Instead of wearing ourselves out with tatting and dealing, we could spend the following months pleasantly gathering and drying plants.
1958		D. Reeve Smoke in the Lanes 145: You’d jest so well pick up wot you wants offen the ole rag-trolley after you’ve bein out a-tattin. [Ibid.] 173: ‘Tatting’ is a gloomy business.

2. collecting scrap iron.

1995

A. Sillitoe Life Without Armour (1996) 165: Ernie and Arthur, called on me wanting to borrow a map so that they could [...] go ‘tatting’ in their fifteen-hundredweight lorry.