BULLION KNOT
 
The Bullion Knot is the loveliest of all surface embellishment stitches in smocking, especially when it is used to make Rosebuds or Roses. The tight wraps give the stitch the look of a Padded Satin Stitch worked in a line, or Trailing Stitch.

In this example, the Bullion Knot is worked horizontally, across 4 pleats. Bring the needle up on the left side of pleat #1. Stitch through all 4 pleats, with the needle held horizontally, emerging where the thread started (Step 1). Do not pull the needle through yet. With the needle still in the fabric, wrap the thread around the needle multiple times (Step 2). As you wrap, make the wraps lie snug around the needle and next to each other (Step 3).
 
Step 1:


Step 2:


Step 3:
 
Once you have as many wraps as you want for the stitch, hold the wraps down against the pleats with your thumb and gently pull the needle through (Step 4). You may need to jiggle the wraps a little to get the needle through, but don't let the wraps become loose or tangled. Still holding the wraps against the fabric to keep the wraps from coming undone, continue to pull gently, rotating the stitch as you go (Step 5). When the stitch is rotated all the way around and all the slack in the thread has been pulled through the wraps, insert the needle in the valley to the right of pleat #4 (Step 6).
 
Step 4:


Step 5:


Step 6:


Finished Stitch:
 
The Bullion Knot does not have to be worked horizontally. To work it diagonally, follow the same steps as above, with the needle angled. To work it vertically, the needle should exit and enter the fabric on the tip of the pleat.
 
Diagonal Bullion Knot:


Vertical Bullion Knot:
 
Hints:
  • Use a straw or milliner's needle. The needle's shaft doesn't taper, and the eye of the needle has the same diameter. This allows the needle to slide smoothly through the wraps in Step 4.
  • It is hard to determine at first the number of wraps to use for a given stitch length. If you use too many, then the stitch will curve or loop. If you use too few, then the stitch looks unattractive. The best way to judge is to look at the stitch carefully at the end of Step 3, and compare the length of the wraps by eye with the length of the stitch. If they look the same to you, add one or two more wraps so that the wraps are jammed next to each other and the knot will look more satiny.
 
Uses:
  • Rosebuds
  • Roses
  • Bullion figures
 
See Also: