What stitch can I use instead of French knots?
In hand embroidery, French knots are used any time you want a little dot or ball. But lots or people struggle to stitch a French knot. If you have French knots in your embroidery project but you want to do something else instead, here are a couple of suggestions.
Video
Subscribe to Epida Studio on YouTube
Details
If you are trying to avoid usual French knots in your embroidery project, but you still want a small stitch, here are some alternatives.
(Click here to see how to do a regular French knot)
1. Straight stitch
A little straight stitch is not as round as a French knot, but it does give a dot of colour and it’s significantly easier and faster to do.
2. Cross stitch
A single cross gives a bit more shape but it’s still quick and easy to do.
3. Star (double cross)
A star or double cross gives even more of a round shape and texture but it can get difficult to stitch depending on your fabric and thread combination because this stitch requires you to pierce the fabric so many times in a small area.
Where a French knot goes through the fabric twice, a star goes through the fabric eight times.
4. Single chain
Also called a detached chain or lazy daisy stitch, this stitch might look the most like a French knot. You can adjust the tension and spacing to make it more rounded and get the look you want.
If you are doing an embroidery project and struggling with a stitch, remember that you can always replace it with something else.
More Embroidery Tutorials
See more embroidery tutorials and answers to your questions HERE.