Sunday 20 October 2013

Stitching Sunday: Hassle-free French knots!

Welcome to Stitching Sunday! It is a thundery, rainy day today, perfect for stitching in your pyjamas with a hot cup of tea by your side...

Within the first half hour of The Knitting & Stitching Show I learned an embroidery tip that has since saved me time and saved my nerves. Would you like to see?

Get your needle and floss ready, you might want to follow along step by step.
First, wrap the floss twice around the needle


Then pull the wrap higher up the needle, giving you lots of room to insert the needle into the fabric


Needle back through, very close to where it came up


Now anchor that thread! Pull the floss down taut to the fabric before you push the needle through any further, and keep it anchored to the side of the hoop as you pull the needle through the back


This little step - simply anchoring the thread with your thumb at the edge of the hoop - makes a huge difference to the process! 


It may help if you set the hoop down on the edge of a table while you’re getting used to this technique, so you have one hand free to pull the needle, the other hand keeping the thread taut.

As you pull, you can gently let loose the thread, at which point the knot should already be secure on the fabric


Keep pulling through and suddenly you’ll have a cute little dimple of a French knot on your fabric.

hello cutie!
Try a few of these, it gets easier with practice – which I had plenty of when I made the organza flowers...


Dare I say I actually like making French knots now? Words I never thought I’d say...

What’s on your hoop this weekend? Link up and show us!

Chrissie x

P.S. A big hello to my new followers, I’m so happy to have you here! 

19 comments:

  1. Good tip Chrissie! I really hate when a french knot isn't tidy and is loopy. Basically they are easy to do but fiddly!

    Have a great Sunday!


    keep well

    Amanda :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are so clever! Lovely to see your little flowers again too. xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well done Chrissie - very helpful indeed, thank you!
    Warm hugs, Joy xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Now you've made me want to go and have a go - many choice words have been used to describe a French knot over here but not one of them had any bearing on 'easy'! Having a hunker down crafty day over here too - love it! Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  5. thanks for that tip.......must try that as sometimes my French Knots are successful and sometimes too floppy! Ali

    ReplyDelete
  6. A great tip and I suppose I have mum to thank as that's the way she taught me. Possibly why I've always thought them easy. Love your sweet flowers. Enjoy your crafty day xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Happy Sunday Chrissie, thanks for the tip :o) Sam xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very clever, I will have to give it a try.
    hugs,
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for sharing this Chrissie, so helpful French Knots are something I have been struggling with.xx
    Clarex

    ReplyDelete
  10. I saw those tiny French knots on your flower piece last week and wondered how they were done. Aren't they much more flower/bud like? I love them. Jo x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Chrissie thank you so much for this tutorial - for the first time I realise just where I have been going wrong all this time with French knots! I love the flowers you have sewn - I feel more confident now about having another go at them. Big, big thanks to you Chrissie, lots of love
    Dorothy
    :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Excellent! I will be bookmarking this post so I can come back to it next time I need to make some French knots. I don't enjoy making them but you make it look easy so maybe I can learn to like it too. Thanks. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love those flowers and thanks for the great tips on making French knots, I will definitely be using these posts as a reference when I next do a little embroidery. You always have such great stitchy advice!
    Marianne xx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for the french knot tip - I struggled for so long with them that I just gave up - when I asked someone how they did theirs, they said "I don't do french knots - that's what beads are for!". Definitely going to give it another go. XX

    ReplyDelete
  15. A huge huge thank you for the french knot tutorial I am going to have a practice watching Downton tonight x x

    ReplyDelete
  16. Welcome to the I love French knots group. Once you get the hang of them they start to appear everywhere. Have been crocheting not stitching today so nothing to share this week.
    S xx

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love your French knot flowers. Funny, I have never understood the trouble with French knots, they have always been easy for me.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I wish I'd seen this when I learnt to make french knots. They can be tricky to master but the feeling of satifaction when you get one just right is huge! Your organza flowers are so delicate and pretty. x

    ReplyDelete
  19. Fab tutorial Chrissie. Will try the French knots! Your stitching is beautiful as always xx

    ReplyDelete