"put the eye of the needle throgh the knot"
 

I was working on my cathedral windows quilt today on the bus. The woman next to me suddenly elbowed me and said "to make it work right and not come undone, you need to put the eye of the needle through the knot". Hmmm. I don't get it. So I asked her what she meant. She then began talking quite animatedly about making cranberry nut loafs. You find all kinds on the Boston city busses.

So my question is this - I have simply been tying a knot and letting 'er rip. Now I am afraid it will all come undone when washed (or even used). Was this woman right? and, if so, how do I "put the eye of the needle through the knot"?

Make any sense?

ps - I would google this, but my computer is quite old and no longer "googles". Not quite sure why.

Thanks!

Maybe she meant to do a french knot? http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/11...-tutorial.html When I googled "pass eye of the needle through the knot" I got several hits for french knots

yes. clear as mud... I will read that over and over until i get it. Thank you both for your advice!

I guess I am really dense! I do not get it other than maybe the french knot!

Unless she's talking about making a quilters knot? I still can't do one, it just pulls out every time.

I was baffled at first, and then I thought of how I make knots when I'm embroidering – I wrap the thread a few times around the tip and then slide the wraps (which become the knot) down over the eye of the needle, down the thread, till it's a knot at the end.

I never would have described it the way she did, but like you said, you find all kinds, and not just in Boston!

This was an interesting discussion for - being from NYC I would have just assumed she was nuts and moved on. Instead you all treated her comment as legit and I have learned how to tye a knot for embroidery. Thanks ladies for being kind and gentle.

If you have trouble popping the knot in the fabric, put your thumbnail over the knot and it will pop into the fabric with no pull on the fabric at all. Once the knot is inside the fabric it's going to stay there.

Quilters take their information from all sorts of sources and kindness is a virtue most quilters have. If only more people were like quilters perhaps it would truly be a kinder more gentler place.