How To End Embroidery Without A Knot
Your worst nightmare as an embroiderer is finding the embroidery you worked so hard on getting loosened after a few visits to the laundry room. This is what happens when you finish embroidering a fabric with a knot.
If you don’t want to see all the hard work you put into making that embroidery pattern go to waste, you need to learn how to end embroidery without a knot. This will be our focus in this article.
Here, you will also be intimated on methods of finishing embroidery using your hands and a machine.
How To End Embroidery Without A Knot?
Contents
After making the last Embroidery stitch at the front of the fabric, move the threaded needle to the back of the fabric. Then, weave the needle through a few of the last back stitches. Lastly, snip the excess thread.
To ensure that your finishing is strong and will not come loose under normal circumstances, you can decide to weave the threaded needle through the last few stitches. Pass it through the top of the first, under the second stitch, over the third stitch again until you get to a point you are satisfied.
To end embroidery without a knot, you can use your hands or use a sewing machine.
Several Embroiderers prefer using their hands to give their embroidery a more artistic design; it makes the embroidery more personal. On the other hand, machine embroidery is used for professional work. It also produces more embroidery pieces within the shortest possible time.
How To End Embroidery Without Knots By Hand?
Using your hand to start and end embroidery requires patience, skill, and practice. Many times it takes days or weeks before you finish one embroidery. This is why excellent care must be taken while ending the embroidery. This way, the effort you put into creating the piece won’t be wasted.
The thread used in hand embroidery is made into strands, and the materials that can be used as thread include silk, cotton, and wool.
Different embroiderers use several techniques to end embroidery without knots.
1. Weaving the needle through the Thread
This technique of ending embroidery is simple and easy. It works well for stitches on a line or stitches relatively close to one another (backstitch, running, stem. Chain, or split).
Step 1: Move the threaded needle to the Back of the Embroidery
Once you have 2-3 inches of thread remaining, take the needle and thread to the back of the embroidery.
Step 2: Weave the Backstitches
Using your needle, weave in and out of the last stitches at the embroidery back.
Step 3: Create a loop
Before exhausting the thread completely, weave it into one of the back stitches to create a loop and then run the needle through the loop.
Step 4: Clip the Thread
Once this is done, pull the thread, weave it through some extra back stitches and snip the excess thread.
2. Whipped or laced back stitches
Whipped and laced stitches are popular ways that change the look and function of embroidery. One of the functions of the whipped backstitches is that they can be used to end an embroidery without a knot.
It’s essential you understand that whipped back stitching involves passing the needle through the same direction, most likely passing the needle under each backstitch. On the other hand, for laced back stitches, you will alternate the direction the needle passes.
Step 1: Move the thread to the back of the fabric
Similar to the weaving technique, move the thread to the fabric’s back.
Step 2: Whip or Lace the thread
Whip or lace the thread through the back stitches of your embroidery; at the end of the back stitches, cut off the excess thread.
3. Slipping thread beneath front stitches
This technique is adopted when the front of the fabric is covered with satin or long and short embroidery stitches. Simply tying a knot wouldn’t suffice because satin stitches tend to be pulled from the backside.
Step 1: Pass the Needle Beneath the front stitches
Once you finish with the surface of the embroidery, slip the needle under layers of previous front stitches, the length does not matter; just make sure there is enough thread to perform a second slide.
Step 2: Repeat step 1, but in the opposite direction
For the next move, slip the thread under layers of stitches again. However, this time move in the opposite direction and ensure that there is a distance between the first and second slip.
Step 3: Snip excess thread and trim the tails of the thread
How To End Embroidery Without Knots Using A Sewing Machine?
Using a sewing machine to create embroidery patterns saves time and energy. It also creates more uniform-looking embroidery that can be commercialized.
The issue with machine embroidery is you cannot decide to add changes to your embroidery along the way. The design is preloaded into the machine, much like using a copy machine.
Unlike the hand Embroidery, the threads here are not stranded, and the thickness cannot be changed. The Embroidery thread used here is made of polyester, metallic, or rayon.
Now let’s get into the steps.
Step 1: Stitch until you are almost at the end
Yes, stitch the fabric using any of the stitching methods you prefer once you get ? inches from the end of the fabric.
Step 2: Press the Reverse Button
The reverse switch is located near the stitch dial on most sewing machines. By pressing this button, the sewing machine will stitch the fabric in the opposite direction.
Step 3: Backstitch the fabric
Creating backstitches on the fabric to secure the last few stitches you completed. By pressing the sewing machine’s foot pedal, make a maximum of 5 back stitches and a minimum of 3. It is crucial that you make sure the stitches you make are short; this makes the stitches firmer and keeps them from tangling.
Step 4: create front Stitches too
If your sewing machine requires you to hold down the reverse button while you backstitch, release the reverse button, but if it doesn’t, simply make sure the reverse feature is off. Then stitch the edge of the fabric.
Step 5: Snip The thread
Tips For Ending Embroidery Without A Knot
Here are some helpful tips that will see you through the process of ending embroidery patterns without a knot.
- Don’t make your stitches so tight
Running tight stitches makes the fabric prone to puckering. It is also crucial that as you try to avoid making the stitches too tight, you should also avoid making them too loose. Instead, aim for even and comfortable stitches.
- Leave enough working thread
After embroidering, you need to leave a working thread that will be sufficient to finish the embroidery. About 4-6 inches of will thread should get the job done.
- Practice
Constant practice will not improve your embroidery making and finishing skills. As you practice, you never know. You may discover new and better ways of finishing embroidery.
Why Should You End Embroidery Without A Knot?
We all know the big reason for not wanting to end embroidery with a knot. We dread the hard work we put into making the embroidery go to waste. But here are a couple of more reasons to buttress the point.
- Knots leave bumps or make the front of the embroidery push out.
- Knots tend to loosen after laundering your Embroidered fabric.
- When you use knots, they tend to leave the backside of the fabric untidy and in a mess, especially when you need to do a chain stitch on the same spot.
- They also tend to leave a trail that might be visible through the front of the fabric.
As you can see, you have now learned how to end embroidery without a knot. It wasn’t challenging to learn. With constant practice, it will be as easy as reading the alphabets.
The methods and techniques discussed will save you from having to re-do your embroidery. You will also avoid all other cons attached to the knot technique of finishing embroidery.
Crafting has always been a deep-seated passion of mine, one that has flourished and evolved over the years.
I've dedicated considerable time to both studying and practicing in the realm of fashion and sewing, amassing a wealth of experience and skills.
It brings me great joy to share these insights and experiences with you all, hoping to inspire and foster a similar passion for the art of sewing.
- How To Hem Chiffon With Tape - January 21, 2024
- How To Fix Ripped Jeans That Ripped Too Much? - January 9, 2024
- How To Make Pants Waist Smaller Without Sewing? - January 8, 2024
