How to Start and End a Knot

When I started quilting, I had no idea how to do this. My knots would look so ghetto, lol. This may be a no-brainer to a lot of you seasoned sewers out there, but for all of you that’d like a quick lesson, here’s a 3-step tutorial. I know I would have appreciated this 6 years ago! (Sorry the picture quality isn’t the best – I was taking these photos with my left hand).

You basically just a) and b) With your needle and thread, make a loop. Hold the thread’s tail so it doesn’t slip out. Then c) put the needle through the loop to create a knot. You can repeat a couple times.

This is great for when you’re hand stitching your binding. I also have a short video I made a while back on my Binding & Blind Stitching tutorial (scroll down for the video). There’s another technique on how to tie off a blind stitch. Either way works.

That’s it for now – just a quick tip!

29 Responses to How to Start and End a Knot

  1. Anonymous August 15, 2013 at 1:40 pm #

    Seems so simple, yet I probably would never have come up with it on my own. Thank you!
    Read your blog from bottom to top yesterday –Obsessed! You make the most beautiful quilts. Thanks for sharing so much of your time with us readers 🙂
    -Alyssa

    • Joy May 20, 2017 at 3:51 pm #

      Ghetto doesn’t seem like a appropriate word.

      • Amanda October 20, 2017 at 1:40 pm #

        Lighten up Joy.

      • Angela December 20, 2017 at 6:17 pm #

        I agree. It doesn’t seem appropriate.

        • Christine Johnson April 19, 2018 at 4:45 am #

          Angela, this is a sewing blog not a political debate, so…jump on off if you do not like the way she teaches .Seriously??

          • Quiltingintherain April 19, 2018 at 5:30 pm #

            =) Thanks for the love

      • Joyce August 2, 2019 at 12:45 pm #

        Thanks for the gentle reminder. Let’s all try to be thoughtful with our words.

  2. Susan R August 15, 2013 at 2:25 pm #

    These kind of reminders or new tips are really appreciated. I have dozens of blogs I browse each day (Bloglovin') and I always stop on the ones who offer new or old techniques. Thanks again for sharing something so simple but so helpful.

  3. Belinda October 29, 2016 at 9:58 pm #

    I have sewn for 50 years and always made ugly knots. Thanks for the tip!!!

  4. Judith Jenkins December 20, 2016 at 2:42 pm #

    Love this. I can’t remember not sewing for doing hand embroidery. My knots are awful. Thank you so much for sharing this. I will teach this trick to my granddaughter and use it all the time.

  5. Tracy January 3, 2017 at 4:11 am #

    Geez! This may be one of the best tips I’ve ever received. I have always had “ghetto” knots too, and I cant wait to use this the next time I’m binding a quilt! Thanks!!!

    • Quiltingintherain January 17, 2017 at 7:53 pm #

      🙂 you are very welcome! Glad this old post continues to help people out!

  6. Analina Rag Dolls January 10, 2017 at 3:42 pm #

    Great tips, this is what I have always done to end but never tried it for the beginning.

  7. Pat martin February 12, 2017 at 2:35 am #

    Love this tip ,thank you.

  8. Dorena March 17, 2017 at 7:54 pm #

    Hello, I scrolled down to see the video, however it isn’t there? Sometimes I can do better if I see it actually done. Do you have a video of the knot being done like the photo above?
    Thanks

  9. Heather June 8, 2017 at 2:41 am #

    Hello, whenever I finish sewing and try tying a knot they end up being big or sliping out. How can I prevent them from coming out and not being huge.

  10. Melissa August 8, 2017 at 4:38 pm #

    I an new and have no idea how you got from picture A to picture B, but I really wa t to know!!

  11. Gloria G. Ybarra August 30, 2017 at 4:02 am #

    The tip is great; the use of the word “ghetto” however not so much. Don’t understand why such a term fits or is appropriate.

  12. Jenny November 18, 2017 at 12:40 am #

    Ghetto is only a slang word. There’s nothing deep-seated or ugly about it

    • AJ March 23, 2018 at 2:07 am #

      Then you must not know the definition of the word “ghetto.” Very inappropriate bordering on elitist racism. Read a dictionary.

      • imgonnamakeitafterall April 4, 2018 at 1:37 am #

        oh please, ghetto is slang for substandard…or to define slang with other slang, it means jacked up. I grew up in a ghetto and I do not find this slang offensive at all. It actually made me laugh because I got a clear mental image of her messed up knots.

  13. Pat January 6, 2018 at 7:48 pm #

    I don’t know where you would use a knot like this since has a tail and it shows. Exactly what kind of sewing are you doing? It certainly isn’t for quilting.

    • Jeannine February 11, 2019 at 4:45 am #

      This looks like a sample knot. The tail is out so you can see the way the knot is made. I’m sure you would start with burying the tail then start the knot. It is great for quilting.

      • Madre of 6 January 21, 2024 at 2:45 am #

        Thank you- you helped me understand that I would first bury the tail and then make the knot-I couldn’t otherwise understand what to do with the tail showing on top of the quilt.

  14. Eunice March 3, 2018 at 2:47 am #

    Wow! Can’t believe how some of these comments are so rude. Please keep up the great work. You are doing a wonderful job!

  15. Christine Johnson April 19, 2018 at 4:49 am #

    Very nice blog Jera, you have shown me a way to knot I may not have discovered elsewhere. Thanks

    • Quiltingintherain April 19, 2018 at 5:30 pm #

      Thank you for your kind words! 🙂 Happy sewing!

  16. Karen July 21, 2018 at 4:25 pm #

    I agree with Pat. Since your blog goes out to so many individuals maybe you should be more sensitive.
    Live and learn.

  17. bunnibungalow July 28, 2018 at 2:08 am #

    Im so lame Id have to see it in a yoytube vid, several times ??

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