I have been handquilting for a very long time, so this is sort of a silly question to ask NOW. I was quilting last night and thought to myself if I should actually be finishing off a different way. Typically, I just make a knot & pop it through the middle of the batting to bury it, but wonder if I need to be doing some other sort of lock stitch first? :shock:

Thats how I was taught. Is there another way, curious?

That's how I've been doing it for years!

I have handquilted 2 or 3 quilts, and that is the way I finish off. Just pull it through. I've never seen any other way, except maybe backstitch once before pulling it through.

p.s. pull the knot through

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Guess I started thinking and my mind started to run away. Started to freak out a bit thinking that I'm not doing something I should be since I'm self-taught. So far, so good! :)

I backstitch first, also.

So I'm guessing you backstitch first at the end of your line, then knot and pull through, correct?

Yes, I just float the needle about an inch or so away, wiggling it through the batting along the way, then make a knot and pop it in. I did recently learn to leave about an inch of a tail after the knot, then use the needle to tuck it inside, because over time the tail will knot up in the batting and add extra security, so I've started doing that.

Good idea!

I also backstitch first before burying the knot!

Another knot popper here. I also leave a bit of a tail as extra security.

I don't usually do a little backstitch at the end but will occasionally at the beginning if I feel that knot is a thread to pop through.Usually they are buried well enough, but every so often I know one is near the surface and a small backstitch will prevent it coming out.

I just pop the knot making sure it is down in the batting. I've never heard of one coming out.

i do it the same as OP

FWIW, I do the same. I have also seen a backstitch, but I usually don't leave myself enough room to do that!


I had the thread break during a "pop" and now I can't get the knot under the top. Is there anything I can do besides take out stitches?

I've had that happen....I use a little tool that I bought for doing bobbin lace, but it's perfect for this. It's like an extremely fine crochet hook. I can slide it in and grab just before the knot and pull it through that way.

I've also seen where you can use a piece of thread....you thread both ends of a separate piece of thread (sewing thread will do and is easier to thread through than quilting thread) and thread both ends of the separate thread through the needle eye, so you have a loop.

Put your needle through where you want the knot to go in, then grab the knot with the loop and pop it through. The needle eye may make the hole a little bigger, which should make the knot go through more easily, and you can just rub your fingernail over the hole to close it up.

That's what I do!

Brilliant!!!!! Thank you! I didn't want to have to tear out the stitches and try another knot! I'll give this a whirl!

You're welcome!

I don't know if you do this already, but if you lightly rub your finger or thumbnail on the knot while you're popping through, it's a lot less likely to break because it helps slide the threads around a little to make room for it.

<--- is also a knot-popper...

What you are doing is what I have always done. I have probably handquilted hundreds of items from kingsize quilts to things as small as pockets. I have never had a problem with it coming out.

I did this last night, and it works!! I had a little trouble getting the knot in the loop, but that's probably because I don't have longer fingernails (or a handy tweezer!)
I pulled it through to the back, but beggars can't be choosers!!!
Thanks so much!

I've watched quilters knot off but the way I finish is to thread through 4-5 times between batting going back & forth

I'm new at hand quilting but never could get the right sized knot to pull through the fabric. SO, I found another method in a quilting book. Insert needle about 1" from starting point, making sure it runs through the batting, then when you begin hand quilting, you will be sewing over the thread that you just inserted between the batting. I do the same thing at the end--insert the needle and pull it about 1" through the batting and cut. Do these instructions make any sense?

I've been doing it that way too and found this basic method somewhere on the web. What I learned from that source was to pull the knot and thread through the same hole you just came out of.

I have had my knots come out on the back and I have to re-bury them, so I leave enough thread on the end to just barely thread a needle. I also make sure my knot is big enough, but not too big to pull the fabric weave and mess it up.
Does this make sense?

With this method there is no knot. The thread is caught up in the quilting stitches.

I am so glad you asked this question. This is how I do it also...knot and pop....but had wondered if I was doing it wrong.

I'm a "knot popper" too. I took a handquilting class and this is the way I was taught. Has always worked for me.

After I pop the knot, I sew an inch or two through the batting. I've never had anything come out when I do it this way. I feel like it is extra precautions.
Sue

I have been hand quilting for years and I have used a lot of the quilts on beds, so they have been washed often. They are all still intact, so far. Some of the fabric is very thin, but the stitches remain. I usually pull the thread through about an inch, then make a back stitch, complete the area and back stitch again. I also run the end through about an inch at the end.
I find hand quilting is very relaxing and satisfying.
Have fun!

I've been hand quilting about 30 yrs. Here's my various ways to end. I usually end by tying a knot close to my last stitch and pop it through, not by pulling straight through to the back, but by running the needle sideways between the layers before exiting, so I have about a 1/2 in. tail buried along with the knot. (Of course I snip the thread right where it exits the quilt.) But if my ending thread is too short to tie a knot in, I take a backstitch and then run the needle between the layers before exiting, so that about 1/2 in. or more of thread tail is buried between the layers. Sometimes I will do a backstitch or two duplicating my last two stitches, so it doesn't show as a back stitch and then run the tail between the layers of the quilt. Sometimes my thread is just too short to do anything with, then I simply slip my needle between the layers as far as it will reach before exiting and leave a long tail of thread between the layers. I've never had problems with any of these ways coming unsewn after it is quilted. The main goal is no knots or thread tails on the surface.

That's the way I do my stitches. I find it works better than knotting.

OK, if I'm following you correctly, at the end I would insert my needle at the end of my line and go about an inch, do a backstitch, go back to my starting point & quilt as usual ending in a backstitch & bury my thread? Am I complicating this more than it is? I'm typically a knot-popper, myself. :)

No, just pull the needle up, hold onto the thread that is buried in the batting and start quilting as usual. Not really necessary to take an extra stitch still you'll be catching the buried thread when you quilt over it.

I basically do the same...except I make sort of a candlewick stitch to pull through. (Sort of like a French knot, but not exactly)

WOW never thought of this before. I just pop it. I will start using the small backstitch though.
Thanks everyone!

I do that a lot and sometimes if I'm at a seam I will stitch around a thread that connected the pieces and then make a knot and pop it through a seam. Once quilts are washed I think the thread just buy themselves in the batt, don't you?

I have to feel safe, I take two little backstitches then knot and pop.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :thumbup: