French knots give nearly everyone trouble. For years I fumed and fussed over making them. They always came undone or pulled through to the back of the work. They were uneven in size. Occasionally, one would turn out correctly, but I never could figure out why. I finally decided it was some kind of weird alchemy that I could never hope to fathom. Meanwhile, charts kept asking for French knots!

I heard about the Colonial knot, but the diagram of how to do one was very unclear. Finally, a friend taught me how to do Colonial knots. I have never done a French knot again. If you're having trouble with knot stitches, try the Colonial knot. I'm betting it'll be your choice, too, and you can laugh with perfect confidence when a chart calls for dozens of knots! You can even do these knots easily with metallic and other "balky" fibers! I promise you can make these knots. If I can, you can!

Send the needle up through the fabric. Put your work on the table on in your lap. You'll need both hands.

How to Make the Knot

Also see the diagram.

• With the needle on the front of the fabric, place the needle behind the standing thread (opposite of French knot).
• Drop the thread over the needle, dropping from front to back. Left drawing. Note: Hold thread in non-needle hand between thumb and index finger. Push the thread toward the standing thread to form the loop.
• Pull the thread in front of the standing thread, then up and over the needle. This is critical to the Colonial knot. Right drawing. Note that this "second drop" is near the needle tip, to the left of where the thread was passed over the needle in the "first drop." Look for the figure 8. From this point, the Colonial knot is exactly like the French knot.
• Insert needle tip going over one thread to the upper R (to NE).
• Pull the working thread very firmly so the knot slides down the needle shaft and rests on the fabric. The coils must be tight.
• Pull the working thread due W of the knot. This is critical to success. Put your non-needle thumbnail smack on the knot, thus holding the knot and the working thread against the fabric.
• Keeping tension on the working thread and your thumb on the knot/fabric, send the needle to the back, letting off tension just as the eye of the needle passes through the knot. Make sure the due-W thread is still lying due W so it will come to rest properly. Tighten.
• Keep thread tension to next stitch firm so the knot stands up.

I suggest you practice making a Colonial knot until you can do 10 in a row without a mistake. (Knots are very hard to rip.) Remember to pull the coils down to touch the fabric and keep your thumb on them as you pull the working thread through.

On your piece, if you have a row of knots I suggest that after every 3 (or fewer) knots, on the back of the fabric run the working thread under a thread and tie a tiny, very tight knot. If you have to remove knots, you can cut out only the ones that you have messed up and not remove all of them. The tiny knots will not show, plus they'll be directly under each knot.

How to Make Bigger Knots

Do not put extra wraps on the needle! Use more strands or a thicker thread. More wraps make a taller knot, which will fall over and be out of place where marked on the chart.

Needle to Use

To further ensure success with knots, I suggest a needle with a small eye. Look at a #24 tapestry needle: you will see that the eye area is fatter than the barrel of the needle. When that "fat eye" passes through the knot - - especially when it passes quickly - - it disrupts the coils. Therefore, a needle with a small eye (and working slowly when passing the needle through and keep your thumbnail on the coils) will yield a noticeable improvement in quality and quite sizable increase in number of "good" knots produced.

I suggest a:

• #28 tapestry
• #10 crewel [a.k.a. embroidery]
• #10 beading
• #10 milliner's [a.k.a. straw]

Substitutes for a French Knot

The most obvious substitute is a bead. Sew it on by making a cross stitch through the hole. This will keep it in place.

Put a cross stitch where the knot should be. Stitch another cross stitch directly on top of it. That will give it a little "height."

Use a fancy stitch, if there is room. A Symrna cross or a rice stitch are good choices.

Tie a granny knot in the middle of a 6" length of floss. Run the two ends to the back of the work and finish off. Depending, you may need to use two strands. You might even need three strands. Don't leave the granny knot loose. It will be floppy. Do a mockup.

copyright 1996-2013, Martha Beth Lewis
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