Sinking your knots
 

Sometimes when I tug my knots to bury them it leaves a 'run' in the fabric. I wrap my quilters knot 3 time and pull the knot tight. Is there anything I can do to fix this or avoid it in the first place?

When that happens to me, it seems to be because in burying the knot I didn't get the point of the needle exactly in the hole--maybe just a thread or two off. Annoying, isn't it? Some fabrics show the hole so easily and others don't.

Daffy

Try 2 wraps instead of 3.
I make my last stitch using the knotted thread, so I make a new hole for the knot. And I make sure to weave the thread back and forth between the layers before returning to the surface a couple inches away and cutting it.

Jan in VA

I have problems too with burying my binding stitches.

I've been doing it Jan's way with my current hand quilting project and it works for me. That thread is thicker. I do it the same way but with three wraps on machine quilting and don't usually gave a problem.

Simple fix: Place your thumb nail on the knot and then pull through the fabric. It pops in easy and doesn't pull the fabric.

combine jan's, tartan"s and onebyone"s advise, and it should be clear sailing

Agree.

I wrap my thread 4 or 5 times, but I always use Bottom Line, which is a finer weight thread. I think you're probably using a heavier weight thread, so your knot is larger.

I don't really have any good ways to fix it. You can put some Fray Block on the run & maybe see about adding some stitching or applique over it to hide the run if it's very noticeable.

You've gotten some really good advice already about preventing it. The other things I'd suggest is considering your needle & thread. I'm not sure if you are doing the Quilter's Knot after hand quilting or applique as I use that knot for both. I use a 50/2 cotton for applique & for that I do wrap around my milliner's or applique needle 3x -- 4x for looser weave fabrics, or 2x for batiks -- before pulling through the background. The motion in that case is pulling straight down.

For hand quilting, I'd go with Jan's method. With 50wt thread, I'd stick with 3 wraps unless you're either working with a batik or a very fine needle (like the ThimbleLady needles). With 40wt or 28wt thread, I switch to 2 wraps. If you're not already working with special Hand Quilting thread, a thread conditioner like bee's wax or Thread Heaven will help. If I have an especially stubborn knot, sometimes I'll rub a bit more bee's wax on it to help it slip through. Or I'll just move my needle over one thread's width & try again. The last thing I can think of that could be causing the runs is if you have the fabric a bit too tight in your hoop. You want it to have some give during quilting -- and especially when burying the knots.