Knots that hold and knots that don't
Okay. Thread's on the needle, tail's the right length, you didn't tangle yourself into next Tuesday. Now we need to anchor that thread so it doesn't just pull straight through the fabric the first time you tug it. That's the knot.
And here's why this matters more than people think: a bad knot is the single most common reason a "finished" repair falls apart in the wash two weeks later. You did all the work. The knot let you down. So we're doing this part right.
The knot I actually use
There are a dozen ways to knot thread. I'm going to teach you one — the quilter's knot, sometimes called a tailor's knot — and I want you to get good at this one before you go looking at videos for the others. 😊
- Thread your needle, tail hanging down maybe an inch or two.
- Pinch the needle between your thumb and first finger, right near the pointy end, with the long thread trailing away from you.
- Wrap the thread around the needle three times, right there where you're pinching. Keep the wraps snug and next to each other, not overlapping.
- Now — and this is the part everybody rushes — pinch those wraps between your thumbnail and finger, and pull the needle straight through them. Slowly. The wraps will bunch up as the needle pulls out of the middle of them.
- Keep pulling the needle all the way down the thread until those bunched-up wraps slide down to the very end and tighten into a knot.
If it comes out lumpy or it slides off the end without catching, your wraps were too loose, or you let go before the needle was all the way through them. Try again. Nobody gets this in one try. I didn't either.
The knot that doesn't hold
The mistake I see most is people just tying an overhand knot, like you're tying your shoe. It works for about four seconds. Fabric has weave and give to it, and a plain overhand knot is small and round and it'll pop right through the holes between threads, especially on anything loosely woven. You'll be halfway through hemming a pair of pants and feel that little tug that means your knot just slipped through to the front side. Oh my heck, it's frustrating. The quilter's knot is bulkier and flatter, and it sits against the fabric instead of trying to thread itself through it.
Where to actually put the knot
Pin it, then look, THEN sew — I'll say that to you all semester, and this is where it starts. Before you take your first stitch, decide which side of the fabric is going to be hidden. Your knot goes on that side, and your first stitch should catch just a couple threads of fabric right where the knot will sit, so the knot has something to rest against instead of pulling straight through.
For a hem, that's the inside of the garment. For a patch, it depends which way you're sewing it — we'll get into that in a later lesson, but the rule doesn't change: knot goes where nobody's going to see it, and it needs fabric under it to brace against, not just thread on thread.
An honest confession about crooked knots
I redid an entire hem once because I could see — not feel, see — that it was one thread-width crooked. William looked at it and said he couldn't see anything wrong with it. I could see it. So I picked the whole thing out and did it again.
I tell you that not to brag, because it's a little bit of a problem, honestly, but because it's the same instinct you need with your knot placement. If your knot is sitting where it'll show, or it's bulky enough to poke through to the right side of the fabric, don't tell yourself it's fine and move on. Pick it out. It takes forty seconds. A mend that shows its knot on the front isn't sunday best, it's just fine, and I want better than fine out of you. 🌷
This is also where I'll say my piece about cheap thread: this is exactly the spot where it fails you. Bargain thread frays as you wrap it around the needle, and a frayed wrap won't cinch into a clean knot no matter how carefully you do the steps. Spend the extra dollar on the decent spool. You'll use less of it fighting your knots.
Ending a line of stitches
Same idea in reverse. When you finish stitching, take a tiny stitch in place, don't pull it all the way tight, and pass your needle through that little loop before you snug it down. That locks it off. Do that twice for anything that's going to take real stress, like a knee or a seat.
A word about needles and attention
Keep the needle pointed away from your other hand while you're doing all this wrapping and pulling. It sounds obvious until you're chatting with the person next to you and not looking at your own hands. I'll say more about needle habits later, but for now: this is slow, careful work, not a race, and your fingers are right there next to the point the whole time.
Before next time
Practice the quilter's knot ten times on a scrap of fabric, out loud counting your wraps, until it stops feeling fussy. You'll need it without thinking about it by our next lesson.
- V