Texture It With Knots! Heart---1

There are many kinds of hearts you can make with knots. And I am sure that when you have practiced a little bit you will come up with your favorite way of making these. I will try to share two with you that are of my own design. Think of how pretty a black purse or tote would look full of bright hearts made in different shades or red, dark pink and orangey-red all formed by texture-rich knots! That will also be unusual and different, because you will be making these after you have already made the purse, but before you add the lining and the handle. Also, if you are making a garment, you can make a couple of rows of these along the bottom of a top (also the sleeves), etc. Endless ideas will come to your mind as you work with these.

If you have joined our tutorials just now and do not know how to make the French Knot or the Colonial Knot, please go back and check out our past lesson. Practice the knots and then come back so that you will be able to attain satisfactory results with your stitching.
Here is where you will find the tutorial you need to see:
Texture It With Knots French Knot and Colonial Knot


For those of you who have been following these tutorials and already practiced the stitches, let's go on. I have enlosed a chart for you to guide yourselves.
Materials suggested:
If working on a yarn purse or garment, you can use the following yarn suggestions, if you are working on cotton, use Pearl cotton or embroidery floss, Practice on a scrap for thickness of knot and effect you would like the achieve.
For the sample, I used the following reds:
Red Heart worsted weight yarn Ranch Red (darkest shade)
Red Heart worsted weight yarn Cherry Red
Red Heart worsted weight yarn Hot Red
I used a blunt needle because I used yarn, if you will be working with Pearl cotton or with embroidery floss, use an appropriate needle.
Scissors
I cut a 30" length of Ranch Red yarn to make the first heart. As you work you will be able to gauge better who much you will need. I don't like my knots to be too tight because they look too small. Look carefully at the chart because it will be your guide. Each square of the chart represents 1 sc stitch of crocheted fabric on your purse or garment. The knot I chose to use was the French knot, and instead of making 2 wraps, I made 3 wraps for added thickness of the knot.


Following the chart, make the first knot by coming out through the fabric at the center of the sc stitch (right underneath the vertical loop that all backside sc stitches have) that is the easiest way to guide your stitches when you are a beginner. Holding the needle behind the yarn, wrap 3 times, and then go back into the crocheted fabric by inserting the needle not at the place where you came out at the beginning, but right in between that stitch and the previous stitch. pull your thread through, straighten out your knot. Make a knot the same way in the center of the nect sc.
Skip 3 sc, make 1 knot in each of the next two sc. Come back out on the row below, 1 sc to the right of the last one you just made and following the chart again, complete 1 knot in each of the following 4 sc, counting from right to left. Skip next sc, 1 French knot is next sc. Take thread to back and fasten off. Cut 46 inches of Cherry Red. Thread blunt needle and work 1 French knot in each of next 3 sc as before, moving from right to left.
Come out in new row, still following your chart, and make 1 French knot in first sc right underneath the last Cherry Red knot made. Continue maing 1 French knot in each of next 8 sc. Take needle to the back. Fasten off. Cut 30 inches of Cherry Red and thread a needle again.
Come up from the back and make 1 French knot in each of first 7 sc of row right below the last one. Fasten off. Cut 92 inches of Hot Red. Thread blunt needle again, this time with Hot Red.
Make last 2 knots of row with Hot Red.
Next row, skip first sc and make 5 knots across. Go to the back and come up again in the next row. Skip first 2 sc and make 1 French knot in each of next 3 sc, skip all the rest. Go to the back and come up again in row below, skipping first 2 sc, make French knot in next sc. This forms the point of the heart. Go to the back and fasten off.
Note- When you pull your knots tight, do so carefully, so that you will not pull your knot all the way to the back! Make sure your knots are well shaped so that they will not unravel with use.
Practice in a scrap of crochet until you are very sure of your French or Colonial knots (they are interchangeable) then go for it!
Following the chart, continue with Hot Red, making 1 knot per square on the chart, until you are done with the heart. Fasten off. I added a couple of knots to my heart to make it chunkier because of the photo, but you can make a pretty heart following just the "x" stitches in the chart.
You just made your first heart! Practice until you can make them with your eyes closed. Then you can adapt them and make them with a hollow center, or make them with less rows. You can make a string of heart or even chanve the direction in which the hearts point.
We will make one more heart in our next tutorial.



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