The cross stitch I'm working on at the moment has a lot of French knots in it and I hate them with a passion! :mad: Does anyone have a fail proof method for getting them right? No matter how careful I am I always either end up with a knot halfway up the floss or it just doesn't take :help:

I'm seriously considering just tying a normal knot at the end of the floss and threading it through at moment :P

Try attatching an apropriate size bead to your work instead

Try attatching an apropriate size bead to your work instead

Oh that is a fab idea! :clap: The knots are used to add a bit of texture to the centre of a flower, so some tiny yellow beads would look great. Thanks Tess! :thumbsup:

Oh that is a fab idea! :clap: The knots are used to add a bit of texture to the centre of a flower, so some tiny yellow beads would look great. Thanks Tess! :thumbsup:

No problem, glad I could help :blush:

French knots are great, because you can do them in various degrees of loose/tightness and so add different types of texture to a piece. I tend to add beads to a cluster of French knots, so they nestle amongst them :) . I like the idea of actually replacing the knot with a bead though, if you only need one :) .

It's difficult to explain how to do a stitch without pictures, but I'll give it a go.

Grab hold of the thread, which you've just pulled through the fabric, with your left hand. Pull it fairly firmly, but not too tight. Pass the needle underneath the thread, then wrap the thread around the needle twice in an anti-clockwise direction.

Pull the thread, so that the two loops sit nice and snug together on the needle. Keep that thread taut as you put the needle back in the fabric, very close to where it came out. Don't put it in the same hole, as the knot might pop through to the back of the fabric.

Still keeping the thread taut, slowly pull the needle through the fabric. When the eye end is just about to disappear through the fabric, put your left thumb over the French knot to hold it in place till the thread is all the way through. Pull the thread gently to tighten up the knot, and secure on the back.

As I said, easier to show than tell :) .

I really hated french knots and beads are a good idea but for when beads won't go, practice is the best way! Grab a piece of waste fabric and keep trying :thumbsup:

I finally managed to perfect french knots while doing Stepping Stone Cottage (Kinkade- there's heaps!).
Hecate's advice is spot on. don't put the needle down the same hole, 'catch' an aida (?) thread beside it.
I must note however, that I changed some of the knots to beads to give it another dimension.

Wow, thanks for all the advice guys! :wave: I'm really taken with the idea of substituting small beads for some of the knots, but I'll definitely give your method a whirl too, Hecate. It's an interesting point you make about bringing the needle in near where you originally pierce the fabric - I'm sure previously I've always tried to take the floss back the same way, so I guess that's where I've been going wrong! :)