Guides / Stitching
Starting and finishing a thread without a knot
Cross stitch is done without knots: a knot makes a bump under the fabric and can pull through. Three ways to start and one to finish are enough for everything.
Cross stitch uses no knots: a knot makes a lump at the back and shows once the piece is framed. The thread is held under the first stitches at the start, and slid under finished ones at the end.
What you need
- Two 50 cm strands, or one 1 m strand for the loop
- A tapestry needle
- Small scissors
The loop start
The neatest way to start two strands. It takes a single prepared strand, twice the usual length: about 1 m.
The loop start: a strand folded in two, the loop left at the back, then the needle through it after the first half cross. No knot, and nothing shows on the front.- Fold the strand in half and thread both ends: you stitch with two strands, with a loop at the other end.
- Come up from the back at the starting corner. Do not pull all the way: the loop stays at the back.
- Make the first diagonal: go down in the opposite corner, to the back.
- At the back, pass the needle through the loop and pull gently: the loop closes on the thread.
Tip. Fold one strand, not two, or you will be stitching with four. The loop only works for 2 or 4 strands; for 1 or 3, trap the tail (below).
Trapping the tail under the first stitches
The universal method, for any number of strands.
3 cm of tail left at the back, held under a fingertip
- Come up at the first stitch, leaving a 3 cm tail at the back.
- Hold it against the back with a fingertip, lying the way you are going to stitch.
- Make 4 or 5 stitches: at the back, each one covers the tail and holds it.
- Trim what sticks out, close to the stitches.
Tip. Tail keeps slipping? Use an away knot: knot the end and go down 3 cm away, on the stitches' path. Stitch towards it, then cut it off.
Ending a thread
When about ten centimetres are left, or at the end of an area of colour. Always at the back, never a knot.
To finish: on the back, slide the needle under three or four stitches, then cut close. No knot.- Finish your last stitch by going down to the back.
- At the back, slide the needle under 3 or 4 neighbouring stitches, without going through the fabric.
- For a firmer hold, go back under one or two stitches the other way.
- Trim close to the stitches.
Tip. Slide the thread under stitches of its own colour, or darker ones: a 310 hidden under pale stitches shows through.
Moving from one area to another
To reach an area of the same colour, the thread can run across the back. Over a few squares only.
A dark thread carried across several squares at the back shows through the cloth. Beyond two or three squares, end it and start again.- Any longer and it shows through the aida, especially a dark on pale fabric.
- It catches, too: you pick it up with the needle without noticing.
- A stitch on its own? Anchor the thread under a stitched area rather than crossing bare fabric.
3 squares of bare fabric at most: beyond that, end the thread and start again
Tip. Too many single stitches on a chart from the converter? Simplify it before you start: see reducing colours.
Why the back matters
Nobody looks at the back, but everybody sees its effect: to frame a piece, it is stretched over a board.
The back of a tidy piece: no knots, short flat threads. The text reads mirrored. Photo: Catherine from Australia, CC BY 2.0- A knot can also work loose, or pull through a hole in the aida.
- The stitch itself, step by step: how to cross stitch.
- ✓ A flat back, short threads: the piece stays flat once stretched.
- ✗ Knots and bundles of thread: each one a lump you can see on the front.
Tip. Trim tails as you go: a loose end at the back gets caught in the next stitches and comes through to the front.