World Wide Quilting Page
Question of the Week
Question for the week of November 6, 2000:
Our question this week comes from Barbara S
I have seen many questions and answers about knots at the beginning of
quilting but I have a problem ending with a knot - it seems to catch and
either will not pop thru or the thread breaks. Any sugestions as to the
kind of knot and how to bury it?
'Scrappykat' :
As far as the knot - I make a small one, pull through the back or front - and always take atlease 3 or more tiny back stitches in a seam or a hidden area of my beginning. Quilt away - I then finish off my ending thread with backstiches in the same manner - then doing (the small ending thread) a big stitched inside (between the batting and backing) staying inside the layers. Pull up some ending thread -use my small scissors to cut the remander. I have done this for years and maybe not the best thing but works for me*
Karen Bush :
When I ended the line of quilting, I would take a teeny backstitch and cut the thread on the back of the quilt. Never did trust a knot to hold thru the years and the washing. This way, I'm Assured it will stay! :) kb
debby costanich :
I tie a small knot near the end of my thread when running our of thread or ending a line of quilting. Then I place the needle under the fabric again, popping the small knot through the fabrice, but not back out to the front. Then I clip the thread as close to the fabric as I can. Most of these tiny ends will never come through the back again. If you use a good quality cotton or flannel on the back of the quilt, it is easy to pop the knot through to the inside.
RebecR@hotmail.com :
The best technique I learned was to 'split the stitch' instead of making a knot. First of all a knot is a high point and invites wear. Unfortunately this technique is almost impossible to explain, at least by me, but I'll try. When you get to the last stitch go down with your needle through all three layers and come back up and split the last stitch you just took. A sharp needle helps but all you really need to do is wiggle alittle to separate the three plys of thread. Go back down and bury your thread in the batt. Looks very neat.
kath anderson :
I like a single knot. Once the needle is back under the top, wiggle it through the batting for about 1/2". Pull the needle back through the top and carefully cut your thread. If the knot catches in your top, put the needle point about 1/2" to an inch straight down into the fabric on the stressed side of where the knot is. This holds the fabric in place as you pull the knot through.
ablossoms@juno.com :
I cannot knot threads at the end of sewing either but whar I do instead is totake the needle and thread and weave into the lower layers until I am sure I will either run our of thread or some distance then pulling the needle throough the other side. If there is thread left I sometimes weave through the lower layers in the opposite direction I just did. I seem to find this effective and have had no trouble with pulled threads.
jean taft :
First your knot must be only one wrap around the needle. If you pul the tyread back and forth in can make the hole larger before you pul the knot thru and will disappear after the knot is thru. If you have a bit of the tail of the thread that doesn't go in between the layers, slip you needle inside and swish it bck and forth. You can catch the thread on the inside and move it, drawing the tail inside.
Donna S. :
when finishing my quilting, I go over the last stitch twice and on the under-side pull the thread through the stitch and layers of the quilt, coming out about an inch away from the stitch on the underside and carefully cut it off.
Lynette :
Thread the needle. With needle in one hand and the end of the thread in the other, face them toward each other. Hold the thread along the needle and wind the thread aroung the needle twice. Grasp with thumb and 1st finger. Now pull the needle through the thread tunnel you have created, holding the tunnel with finger and thumb. Keep pulling until thread ends in a knot. this knot will pull through fabric and bury itself in the batting to begin. At the end, I make a simple circle with the needle going through the circle for a single knot. Take the needle down near the end stitch and up about 1/2" over. A slight but firm tug should bury the knot.
Carrie :
I have also never had a thread to break
no matter how hard I've pulled.Make sure you are using good hand
quilting thread.
Robin O. :
If you can't get your ending knot to pop thru... try to place the needle next to the knot and wiggle it on either side of your knot and then it should just pop thru. It loosens the fibers in your fabric. Then with your finger nail, lightly scratch over that spot and the fibers will go back together.
Laurie :
I don't make a knot at the end. I just back track and stitch over the last stitch, even if only through the top layer of the quilt, this eliminates the need for a knot and still secures your thread so it won't pull out.
Evamaria :
No knot at all.
Ich mache weder am Anfang noch am Ende
einen Knoten, sondern steche die Nadel
ungefähr 3cm vor dem Anfang ein und
lasse noch ebensoviel Faden außen hängen.
Am Ende mache ich es ebenso, ich steche
meine Nadel ca. 3 cm vom Endpunkt entfernt
aus und lasse 3cm Faden hängen. Den Faden
an Anfang und Ende ziehe ich dann zwischen
das Vlies indem ich mit der Nadel wieder
etwas vom Ausstichpunkt entfernt unter
den Stoff gehe und den Faden damit zwischen
die Lagen "fische". Ich habe bisher nur
Polyestervlies benutzt und es hat sich noch
nichts aufgetrennt.
Cathy :
I do a simple knot by wrapping the thread around my finger once and then running the needle between my finger and the thread. I then use the needle to guide the knot to be as close as possible to the material. This makes the smallest knot possible and 99% of the time I have no problem popping it through. You should go back though the same hole but sometimes I need just half a stitch more so I go through a new hole this is probably the 1% where I have problems. Some materials are better than others for not leaving a mark, but I have never broken the thread. Are you using hand quilting thread?
Cheryl :
When a knot won't pop thru for me, I use my index finger of the other hand and use a little pressure where the knot goes through. It separates the fabric just enough to allow the knot to slip through. Then I rake over the spot with my nail and everything is fine and in place.
Sharon :
I saw Billie Lauder on SIMPLY QUILTS stick her needle into the thread right next to where the knot goes through. This relaxes the tension or something, and her knot popped right through - and she was demonstrating the big stitch and using a thicker than usual thread.
Mary Begley :
It may look funny, but I always wet my thread-rolling finger with my tongue. That way I have control of making a knot out of one or two rolls of the thread from my finger. Try one roll-off first. If it slips through the whole piece, make it two roll-offs.
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