Have You Ever Used a Colonial Knot?

I’ll admit there are a lot of things I don’t know when it comes to cross stitch techniques, but it’s not often that I come across a term I’ve never heard of before.

It happened recently when I found a post at Fab Reilly all about decorative knots, specifically comparing French knots to colonial knots.

Of course I know what a French knot is; I’ve made tons of them and even wrote a post about how to make French knots and comparing the look using different numbers of strands of thread and different numbers of turns around the needle.

The colonial knot has a similar look but it’s done in a different way, by twisting the thread around the needle in a figure 8 rather than just wrapping it around the needle. I don’t know why they are called colonial knots.

In their side by side comparison, French knots and colonial knots look pretty much the same, but the colonial knot maybe is a little nicer looking because the threads lie a little flatter. Once you get the hang of it you might find colonial knots easier to make, and you can use them interchangeably when a project calls for a decorative knot.

The Fab Reilly post has a step by step photo tutorial on how to do colonial knots, as well as a video if that helps you learn. Of course now that I know it exists there are tons of tutorials out there I just had never seen before.

This is definitely a technique I’m going to have to try and see if I like it better than standard French knots. (I actually think making French knots is kind of fun.)

Have you ever done this method of knot making before? Do you prefer French knots or colonial knots? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

[Photo: Fab Reilly]

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How Much Embroidery Floss Should You Use?

Non Stop Stitch is an Etsy shop based in Ukraine with a dizzying quantity and variety of cross stitch patterns.

They tend to the cute/whimsical and colorful, with lots of flowers, animals, fantasy designs and some classic Ukraine inspired motifs.

How about this super sweet Ukrainian boy and girl design? With folk inspired clothing and adorable animals, these characters can be stitched together on one piece or separately. The images were designed by Nadiia Nagorna. The boy measures 50 by 96 and uses 22 colors and blends, while the girl is 62 by 94 stitches and uses 27 colors and blends.

Both projects involve full and half cross stitches, as well as backstitch and French knots. They are classified as intermediate patterns.

The largest category on the site is Christmas patterns, with more than 200 options, ranging from cute animals to ornaments, Santas, snowmen and more. There are also plenty of patterns for both Easter and Halloween if you like seasonal stitches.

In addition you’ll find lots of animal designs, from bears and foxes to cats and dogs, mice and elephants, birds, bunnies and bugs. And extensive flowers and plants section includes pretty bouquet cross stitch patterns, stitched wreaths and seasonal scenes, as well as food cross stitch patterns, like a swag of chili peppers, mushrooms on a postage stamp, persimmons and cherries.

The fantasy and magic category leans heavy on whimsy with cute dragons, a one-eyed monster with dragonfly wings, a mermaid listening to music, and a green bearded river spirit covered in lily pads.

And that’s not even to mention other sections like food and drinks, houses and landscapes, lighthouses, people/babies/dolls and more. There’s so much to choose from there’s no way to really categorize it all, so why don’t you head over to Non Stop Stitch and do some scrolling. I’d love to hear if you make one of their patterns!

[Photo: Non Stop Stitch]

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