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This French Knot heart is a simple embroidery design for beginners. You can use the same basic steps for all sorts of simple designs, seasonal or otherwise.
I love French knot projects. There are some really amazingly detailed works out there done with nothing but knots in different colors.
My French knot heart is, well, not fancy. It’s even kind of wonky. I was going to fix it but I like the way it looks like a kid did even, even though it was me.
The linen fabric adds to the kind of homey wobbliness of it. You can definitely make yours more perfect if you like.
Supplies
- Fabric: I used a bit of a linen skirt I altered last year and saved the extra fabric from. This would be cute on any solid colored or delicately patterned woven fabric
- Embroidery hoop: mine is a six inch hoop, but you can make your design smaller or larger as you like and adjust the size accordingly
- Fabric marker: I used a fabric marking pencil, but anything that will leave a light, removable mark on your fabric will work
- Embroidery floss: red, pink, ombre, whatever you like
- Sewing needle
How to Make a French Knot Heart
Decide how big you want your heart to be. I freehanded mine (obviously) but it came out just about 2.25 inches square. ish. Use the fabric pencil to draw out your heart shape.
Pro tip: If you want a heart that’s less hand-drawn looking, use a cookie cutter or another heart-shaped implement (or clip art printed from the Internet) to shape your design.
Pick a place to start and begin making French knots on the lines you drew. My lines weren’t that easy to see, so I didn’t end up following them perfectly. It’s up to you how precise you want to be and how much you want to fill in.
When your stitching is complete, trim any excess fabric from your piece. You can display it in the embroidery hoop, add it to a frame, mount it on a card, whatever you like.
How to Make a French Knot
Don’t know how to stitch a French knot? It’s actually really simple. If you’ve read my advice on how to tie a knot for hand sewing, you’re already almost there.
To begin, bring your threaded needle through the fabric from the back to the front where you want your knot to be. Wrap the thread around the shaft of the needle three or more times. More wraps=bigger knots, but they’re also harder to control and might not look as nice.
Put the needle back through the fabric from front to back near where you initially came up. Pull firmly so the loops turn into a knot on top of your fabric.
Design Options
I just stitched the outline of my French knot heart, but you can fill in the whole thing if you like. Make it a solid color, striped, ombre, rainbow, whatever.
You could also stitch something else inside the heart, like a person’s name, another word or some basic embroidery designs.
I like this as a wall hanging but you could also stitch it onto a piece of clothing for a Valentine’s Day themed garment that can also be worn throughout the year.
How would you make this heartfelt project? I’d love to hear your ideas!
