How To: French Knots

I thought I’d publish this quick basic tutorial for French knots. I use them a lot for tiny eyes, noses, flowers, polka dots, etc… so they appear often in my patterns. This is how Larissa Holland does it. You may have a different way? But I find this is a foolproof method for consistent, good-looking, nicely round French knots. 

You’ll find a version of this tutorial in the Resource section of my patterns. Keep in mind I was photographing this myself, so I couldn’t have my hand on the needle and the camera button at the same time. I drew in a quick stand-in for my fingers up there.

Some ways you can vary the knot:

• You can make your knot look larger or smaller depending on how many strands of floss you use.
• You can also make the knot look long instead of round by wrapping the floss around the needle more than two times. 
• Use lots and lots of knots to completely fill an area with an interesting nobbly texture.
• There’s also a variation of the French knot called ‘colonial knot’, which usually ends up looking a bit larger and rounder than the French version with the same number of strands. You can see it here. I prefer the French knot just because I’m used to it, it’s quicker, and it gives great results.

Once you get the trick of doing them, you’ll realize French knots are not scary at all and maybe even a little fun! They are certainly a great way to add charming texture and details to your embroidery.