So, what’s the trick? I keep getting a nice little bar. No knots!! I’ve looked at demos and drawings and keep winding up with nothing.
How is it worded for the knot st?
Bring needle out of -knitted background from back to front, wrap yarn around needle one to three times, and use thumb to hold in place while pulling needle through wraps into background a short-distance from where it came out.
Sounds easy enough, but instead of a knot, I get a bar. The pulling of the tail gets me. As soon as I tug the tail through the knot part is lost. I give up!!!
so an embroidery french knot.
Pull yarn out from back (all of yarn
bring tip of needle back to were yarn came out on surface.
USE tip of needle to make a 'stitch on the needle (a simple script E cast on (the stitch is lying on surface,
the yarn is wrapped ONCE (in a script E shape)
hold the yarn (the end of the script E) close to needle.
push needle through, and pull yarn/ (the place the needle goes in, should be close to, but not exactly the same place it came out.
as the last of the yarn travels throught the stitch, a small neat knot will be formed.
if you want bigger knots, use thicker yarns (double) do NOT Double WRAP
(this is how i learned, on PBS, from Erica Wilson (of crewel embroidery fame) some 30 years ago.
the single twist and holding yarn close to stitch as you pass needle through is what makes it work.
That’s identical to how I always made them, except I always used a triple wrap unless I wanted a teensy-weeny little knot.