gale

On that video, at the beginning she says take the right thread over the left but she is taking the left over the right. And then the 2nd time she's taking the left over the right again. One youtube commenter said theirs fell apart using this method.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeaIyAyg_cs

loopywren

I have just tried it though I didn't listen to it.. I just watched her hands and copying them seems to work, I have pulled and pulled it and it seems secure.

gale

So you're starting out putting left over right both times?

Sheepshed

Some yarns are more slippery than others, which could be why it worked before, but not this time..... ?

GemState

Actually a square knot is made by putting (for instance) the right thread over the left in the first step and then the left thread over the right for the second step (or vice versa). What makes it a surgeon's knot is the fact that you wrap the thread twice each time rather than the usual once.

loopywren

Yes I did. It worked for me.

feline fanatic

Gee, I always called this type of knot a butchers knot. I use the same method when trussing poultry or tying a roast. It also works really well for tying ribbons on Christmas presents when you don't have someone around to put a finger on the knot. The double wrap holds the first tie in place until you do your second knot.

Good to know to use it when tying a quilt. I will use it in the future.

Deborah12687

When I tie quilts instead of using yarn I used cotton crochet string as it doesn't come undone.

loopywren

I am going to tie the quilt I am working on at present, I have a fleece back on it and whatever I try I cannot machine quilt it fed up with unpicking, I have taken advice from the board but nothing has worked, I do not have time to hand quilt, so lets hope this works in the long term, though not really a problem as my daughter could give it back for me to correct.

kateyb

Some yarns that are "slick" will come untied. Try doing square knots. They are right over left, left over right. Less likely to come out.