Knotted stitch

{{short description|Any of various embroidery stitches in which the yarn or thread is knotted around itself}} {{about|knotted embroidery stitches|other types of knots|Knot|and|Macramé}} [[File:Textile piece (AM 12077-7).jpg|thumb|180x180px|Vases in Pekin stitch, Qing dynasty (1644–1912), China]] A '''knotted stitch''', also known as '''knot stitch''', is any embroidery technique in which the yarn or thread is knotted around itself. A knotted stitch is a type of decorative embroidery stitches which form three-dimensional knots on the surface of a textile.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Leslie|first=Catherine Amoroso|title=Needlework through history : an encyclopedia|date=2007|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-34247-9|location=Westport, Conn.|pages=102–104|oclc=231411503}}</ref> Common knotted stitches include '''French knots''', '''coral stitch''',<ref name="Ent">Enthoven, Jacqueline: ''The Creative Stitches of Embroidery'', Van Norstrand Rheinhold, 1964, {{ISBN|0-442-22318-8}}, p. 153-163</ref><ref name="RD">Reader's Digest ''Complete Guide to Needlework''. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (March 1992). {{ISBN|0-89577-059-8}}, p. 42-43</ref> and '''Pekin knot''' (also known as '''forbidden stitch''', '''Pekin stitch''', and '''seed stitch''')<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cammann|first=Schuyler|date=1962|title=Embroidery Techniques in Old China|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20067040|journal=Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America|volume=16|pages=16–40|jstor=20067040 |issn=1945-2926}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Perkins|first=Dorothy|title=Encyclopedia of China : History and Culture.|date=2013|publisher=Taylor and Francis|isbn=978-1-135-93562-7|location=Hoboken|pages=143|oclc=869091722}}</ref> which is sometimes also referred as '''French knot''' although there is a difference in techniques between these two stitches.<ref name=":0" /> Knotted stitches can be subdivided into individual or detached knots, continuous knotted stitches, and knotted edgings.

== History == Knotted embroidery originated in ancient China; the oldest example of it dates from the Warring States period in the form a pair of silk shoes.<ref name=":0" /> Knotted embroidery was popular in the Han dynasty and fine silk clothing were embellished with the Pekin knot in this period.<ref name=":0" /> Knotted embroidery were also used on the mandarin square of the Ming and Qing court clothing of officials.<ref name=":0" /> The Pekin knot is one of the two main types of Chinese embroidery stitches, with the other being the satin stitch.<ref name=":1" />

Embroideries tradition which started in China were passed to other countries through the Silk Road.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Leslie|first=Catherine Amoroso|title=Needlework through history : an encyclopedia|date=2007|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-34247-9|location=Westport, Conn.|pages=xii|oclc=231411503}}</ref> [[File:Four Roundels LACMA M.53.1.17a-d (4 of 4).jpg|left|thumb|208x208px|Roundels in Peking knot and satin stitch, Qing dynasty.]] [[Image:Challah cover french knots detail.jpg|203x203px|thumb|Contemporary design of French knots surrounded by chain stitch from a sampler in the form of a challah cover.]]Embroideries from China and Western Asia were imported to the British Isles, North America and Western Europe by the British East India Company in the 1690s along with many other traded goods.<ref name=":0" /> Eastern knotted embroidery became popular among Westerners.<ref name=":0" /> The liking for the Pekin knot eventually influenced the development of tatting in Western Europe and the British Isles when Europeans sought the knotted effects of the stitches but did not want the time-consuming process of stitching tightly packed little knots continuously for long hours.<ref name=":0" />

==Applications== Individual knots are often found used as detached filling stitches.<ref name="RD" />

Knotted edgings are used as a decorative trims, and can also be used to fill open spaces in cutwork and in needlelace.

==Detached knots== right|thumb|150px|French knot Individual knots include:<ref name="Ent" /><ref name="RD" /> *'''French knot'''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Willem|title=French Knot|url=https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/techniques/embroidery/embroidery-stitches/french-knot|access-date=2021-07-10|website=trc-leiden.nl|language=en-gb}}</ref> *'''Bullion knot'''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Willem|title=Bullion Stitch|url=https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/techniques/embroidery/embroidery-stitches/bullion-stitch|access-date=2021-07-10|website=trc-leiden.nl|language=en-gb}}</ref> *'''Four-legged knot stitch''' *'''Turk's head knot'''

==Continuous stitches== Knotted stitches include:<ref name="Ent" /><ref name="RD" /><ref name="Ch2">Christie, Grace (Mrs. Archibald), ''Samplers and Stitches, a handbook of the embroiderer's art'', London 1920</ref> *'''Ceylon stitch''' *'''Coral stitch''' or '''coral knots'''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Willem|title=Coral Stitch|url=https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/techniques/embroidery/embroidery-stitches/coral-stitch|access-date=2021-07-10|website=trc-leiden.nl|language=en-gb}}</ref> *'''Zig-zag coral stitch''' *'''Double knot stitch''' or '''Smyrna stitch'''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Willem|title=Smyrna stitch|url=https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-needles/techniques/embroidery/embroidery-stitches/smyrna-stitch|access-date=2021-07-10|website=trc-leiden.nl|language=en-gb}}</ref> *'''Knotted cable chain stitch''', a knotted variant of cable chain stitch

===Stitch gallery=== <gallery> Image:Ceylon stitch.gif|Ceylon stitch Image:Coral stitch.gif|Coral stitch Image:Zig-zag coral stitch.gif|Zig-zag coral stitch Image:Double knot stitch.gif|Double knot stitch Image:Double knot variation.gif|Double knot variation Image:Knotted cable chain stitch.gif|Knotted cable chain stitch </gallery>

==Knotted edgings== Knotted edgings include:<ref name="Ch2" />

*'''Antwerp edging''' *'''Armenian edging''' *'''Hollie stitch'''

==See also== *Cross-stitch *Embroidery stitch *Tufting

==Notes== <references />

==References== {{commons category|Knotted stitches}} *Caulfield, S.F.A., and B.C. Saward, ''The Dictionary of Needlework'', 1885. *Christie, Mrs. Archibald (Grace Christie), ''Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving'', London, John Hogg, 1912, online at [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20386/20386-h/20386-h.htm Project Gutenberg] *Christie, Mrs. Archibald (Grace Christie), ''Samplers and Stitches, a handbook of the embroiderer's art'', London 1920 *Enthoven, Jacqueline: ''The Creative Stitches of Embroidery'', Van Norstrand Rheinhold, 1964, {{ISBN|0-442-22318-8}} *Reader's Digest, ''Complete Guide to Needlework''. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (March 1992). {{ISBN|0-89577-059-8}}

Category:Embroidery Category:Knots