Embroidery with French knots - the basis of skill

The elegance of the jeweler's work and the tenderness of the romantic style combined embroidery in French knots.

About history and application

Each craftsman of needle and thread knows that high art of embroidery involves the use of a variety of techniques in one work. And you can arrange the last accents in the creation with the help of French knots.

This type of embroidered seam has a long history, originating in ancient China, however, like other techniques of needle and needle art. It was appreciated by French embroiderers only when merchants began to bring from China items of luxury and richly embroidered cross-stitch embroidery. Schemes were adopted and modernized to meet the needs of the French nobility.

By the way, it was not only the nobility who wore such patterns. In Byzantine school of church embroidery, this seam was actively used in the decoration of vestments of higher ranks.

What is the reason for such great popularity? The answer is simple: embroidery with French knots allows you to create the finest details of the decor and gives the volume of work already completed. For a beginner embroiderer, it serves as a tool that allows you to place accents on the picture, for example, in the form of a glitter of the eyes or a barely noticeable mole. More experienced masters can only create whole panels with the help of nodules, besides not only in the form of paintings, but also household items.

And because embroidery with French knots deserves the attention of those who chose for themselves as a hobby art of thread and needle.

Fundamentals of Excellence

The beauty of this kind of seams is that it is executed with the same beauty both with the help of strings and ribbons.

As already mentioned, the French embroideresses adopted it from the Chinese craftsmen and modified it. Although the technique looks almost identical.

So, first you need to choose a needle and a mule. Embroidery with French knots implies the use of a very thin needle with a long eyelet and a thread in one or at most two folds. Then, in the embroidery frame, the fabric should be fixed at the maximum tension of the latter.

Once the preparatory work is done, proceed directly to the execution of the nodule. To do this, withdraw the needle from the back side at the point closest to the location of the nodule. On the front side, the needle is twisted twice with a working thread with a strong tension of the needle in a counterclockwise direction. After that, the needle is carefully inserted into the tissue at the site of the supposed location of the nodule, holding the threads until they are completely fixed on the tissue. It should be noted that it is the number of turns that the Chinese knot differs from the French knot. For the first thread, you should only wrap around the needle once.

In contrast to the mulina, embroidering ribbons of nodules with French style suggests that the tape wraps the needle not twice, but at least three. As a rule, with the help of nodules, roses are executed in this technique. And because the number of turns depends on the magnificence of the embroidered flower.

The use of embroidery with French knots adorns the work, and therefore any self-respecting master has to master her basics.