Stitch School: Four-Legged Knot

The four-legged knot stitch looks like a simple cross stitch with a knot in the center, but the knot is actually part of the second crossed thread not done afterward and on top. A bit hard to explain but you'll see what I mean in a minute.

Take a stitch from top to bottom—this will become the first half of the cross. Then bring your needle up to begin the second half of the cross and pull your thread through.



Lay the thread across the center of the stitch and hold it with your thumb.



With the thread looped below, slide your needle diagonally from upper right to lower left and under both threads.



Pull the thread through gently making sure the loop is under the tip of the needle.



Continue to pull it through, guiding the thread with your thumb, until the knot tightens.



Then bring your needle and thread to the back to complete the cross. And it looks like this.



Here's a side view so you can see the knot a little better.



In a comment last week Pattie asked me to talk about finishing work without the threads coming loose in the wash and without using knots. I was going to try to answer that with a sentence or two here, but I think it deserves it's own post. I do what's called weaving but there are several other methods that I should mention, too. So, stay tuned for that. And for pictures of the wild rose, possibly tomorrow. The pillow is done, and I made a few small changes to the original design.

Links to previous Stitch School posts can be found in the sidebar at the right for those of you just joining in or if you missed one. Happy stitching!

And a big thanks to Jen at The Crafty World for the nice mention today.