French knots: how to make a neat knot first time
A French knot is a small raised dot on the surface of the fabric. In cross stitch charts it's used for eyes, flower centres, snow, berries and the dots over letters. Many stitchers dread it: the knot slips through to the back or turns into a fuzzy blob. In fact a couple of habits fix most of it.
How a knot looks on a chart
Usually a small circle or a bold dot where grid lines cross or in the middle of a square. The key lists knots separately, with the thread number and the number of strands.
Step by step
- Bring the needle up to the front where the knot should be.
- Hold the thread taut with your left hand (if you're right-handed) and lay the needle against it.
- Wrap the thread around the needle — usually once or twice.
- Keeping the tension, take the needle down right next to where it came up — into the neighbouring hole or the same square, but not into the very same hole.
- Holding the thread, pull the needle through to the back. The knot settles on the fabric.
Why it goes wrong
- The knot slipped through. The needle went back down the same hole it came up. Move over by one fabric thread.
- The knot is loose. The thread went slack while the needle was going down. Keep the tension to the very end.
- It's a blob. Too many wraps. For a bigger knot, use more strands rather than more wraps.
- The knot sits on a loop. Pull the needle through smoothly and don't tug at the end.
Tips
- Order. Knots go in last, after crosses and backstitch, or they're easily snagged and squashed.
- Don't carry thread far from knot to knot on the back, especially under light areas.
- Test knot. Make a couple of knots at the edge of the fabric to settle on the wraps and strands.
Where the app fits
In Crossette you mark knots on the chart just like crosses and backstitch. Backstitch has its own article, "Backstitch in cross stitch", and for securing the thread see "How to start and finish a thread without a knot".
About the author
This article was written by the Crossette team. We're building Crossette, a cross stitch tracker for iPhone and iPad. It's in development; to join the beta, email [email protected].