How to Make French Knots, or What to Do Instead

I happen to really like French knots. I think they’re fun to make and I’ve written a lot about how to make French knots, how they look different depending on how many strands of thread you use and how many times you wrap the needle, and how to use them in projects.

But some people struggle with French knots or just don’t like the look. Lately I’ve tried using French knots in a couple of projects and didn’t love the result because I felt like they were just too big for what I was trying to do, like they stood out too much.

So what’s a stitcher who doesn’t love French knots (or doesn’t love them for a particular application) to do?

Sirious Stitches has a great post about how to make French knots and alternatives to French knots you might know about or might not.

One thing that is great about this post is it has multiple links to tutorials, both photo and video, for French knots and colonial knots. If you don’t know about colonial knots, they’re basically like making a figure 8 around the needle instead of straight wrapping.

And of course there are other options if you don’t like either of these. One thing they suggest is using beads instead of knots, which is probably just the solution I needed for the project where I wasn’t loving the look of a knot.

You can use any size and finish of bead you like to give your project a different look, and I think something plain without a lot of sparkle would have been a great addition to my project (the knot was the dot on a semicolon).

Do you like to use French knots or do you try to avoid them? Check out the post at Sirious Stitches to see all your options and let me know if you’re going to try a different way in your next cross stitch project.

[Photo: Sirious Stitches]

The movie Project Hail Mary came at the perfect time for us to continue our space joy after the Artemis mission, so let’s keep the fun going with some Project Hail Mary themed cross stitch projects.

Of course a lot of these projects feature the words “amaze amaze amaze,” like this one from Sew High School, which just features the words worked in a range of planetary colors. The design is 105 by 72 stitches, and uses a whopping 60 colors, but you could always use fewer if you like. Having each word in a single color or using variegated thread would be nice, too. On 14 count fabric this one measures 7.5 by 5.14 inches, or 19 by 13 cm.

Or stitch Rocky along with the iconic phrase with this design from John Gudmann Art. The pattern listing is low on details such as size or number of colors used, but it’s such a cute one I wanted to share it anyway.

There’s also this one from Milo Can Stitch, which is 89 by 91 stitches, so just about 6.5 inches/16.5 cm square. It uses 17 colors and looks like Rocky is doing a little dance, which is fun.

Another classic line from the book and the movie is “You sleep, I watch,” which feels kind of perfect for a baby’s room. This design from Carefree Cat Shop uses 11 colors and measures 49 by 37 stitches. That’s 2.8 by 3.7 inches, or about 7 by 9 cm, on 14 count fabric.

Soft Muse Studio Store reminds us you sometimes just need someone to be brave for with this design featuring Rocky and Grace. At 215 by 215 stitches, the finished project uses 13 colors and measures 15.4 inches, or 39 cm on 14 count fabric, which will fit in a 10-inch hoop. Other fabric counts are included if you want to make it smaller. (This designer has several cute Project Hail Mary cross stitch patterns so be sure to check them all out.)

I also love this colorful spacewalk design from Mercury Stitches. It is 50 by 70 stitches, which comes out to 3.6 by 5 inches (9.1 by 12.7 cm) on 14 count fabric. It uses 17 colors and is all full cross stitches, as well as some backstitching.

Have you read?