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Hey everyone, in my Henry VIII stitching I have to affix a few "bullion" knots onto his hat with metallic threads - I've never done them before so does anyone have any hints or tips please?

I have struggled with this one I'm afraid so I'm probably not going to be much help, however here is by far one of the best instructions and pictures I've seen for it:

http://inaminuteago.com/stitchdict/stitch/Bullion.html" target="_blank

Best to find a crap piece of Aida and practice away. That's what I did and I love doing bullion knots. If you have to arrange them in a way, get your final length and make it. Then tack it in the right places with a single strand, for instance in the middle if you're trying to make a curve. Good luck with the metallic threads though. I'm too nervous to attempt a bullion with metallics. Fun to practice those though.

And if you google how to do bullion knots there should be a list of videos. I can't remember where I found mine but this lady was excellent in explaining. I think it was ask.com or something like that. It had a big red ball near the title.

Thank you very much to you both for the helps, and thanks for that brill link Mistonique. I will be having a go at the Bullion knots tomorrow so I'll let you know how I get on.
Corey.G - I hate stitching with metallics at the best of times so lets hope I don't tear my hair out trying tomorrow!

I got my fingers crossed for you. I hope to see a pic here tomorrow. Just practice them first. They're A bit hard to judge the length at first.

You can find a video tutorial here, this lady has many excellent video tutorials for all sorts of stitches and techniques.

Corey.G wrote:I got my fingers crossed for you. I hope to see a pic here tomorrow. Just practice them first. They're A bit hard to judge the length at first.

I'm going to have a practise of them in a bit, its probably not quite as complicated as I'm thinking it is, I just hope I don't end up in a big knot myself

Mabel Figworthy wrote:You can find a video tutorial here, this lady has many excellent video tutorials for all sorts of stitches and techniques.

Oh thats fantastic, thank you very much, I'm beginning to see how its done now much better, just a case of me trying it out now - eeek!
I've book marked that entire site, thank you for the link

I've practically got it already with ordinary thread but metallic thread is proving extremely tricky. I might replace the metallic gold for ordinary gold thread if I can't get the hang of this. I don't think metallics were designed for bullion knots - they're hardly easy at the best of times!
Time for a break for me

Yeah I could only imagine the nightmare of trying a bulkion knot with metallics. If not you might be able to get away with using that kind of thick string with a metallic tinge. Not sure what it's called but it's in the plastic cases by the DMC threads.

Corey.G wrote:Yeah I could only imagine the nightmare of trying a bulkion knot with metallics. If not you might be able to get away with using that kind of thick string with a metallic tinge. Not sure what it's called but it's in the plastic cases by the DMC threads.

Ah I never thought of that, great idea! I've still not mastered the knot with the metallic, it just keeps on getting snagged. I'll have another try tomorrow as I'm a determined type - I never give up without a good fight

What about the shiny floss from DMC it's not exactly metallic but shinier than plain floss????

What about the shiny floss from DMC it's not exactly metallic but shinier than plain floss????

maemae0410 wrote:What about the shiny floss from DMC it's not exactly metallic but shinier than plain floss????

Satin threads from DMC are quite nice. Problem is, that the satin threads, although nice, when stitched they only give a subtle sheen, and if you're doing someone as important and royal as Henry VIII then nothing but something that would give a gold effect would do.

This is driving me crazy with these metallics, I can easily do the knot with ordinary threads. I think I might try 1 strand of ordinary with 1 strand of metallic, see if its any easier.......

Its making me put my stitching down its annoying me so much!

I sympathise - metallics are a nightmare. Have you tried thread heaven?

Corey.G wrote:

maemae0410 wrote:What about the shiny floss from DMC it's not exactly metallic but shinier than plain floss????

Satin threads from DMC are quite nice. Problem is, that the satin threads, although nice, when stitched they only give a subtle sheen, and if you're doing someone as important and royal as Henry VIII then nothing but something that would give a gold effect would do.

No I mean the light effects.

Arianwen wrote:I sympathise - metallics are a nightmare. Have you tried thread heaven?

No I haven't even heard of it, what is it please?

GreekHoneyBee wrote:

Arianwen wrote:I sympathise - metallics are a nightmare. Have you tried thread heaven?

No I haven't even heard of it, what is it please?

http://www.xstitch4u.com/acatalog/Thread_Heaven.htm" target="_blank

This explains it.
It basically coats the threads, making them more manageable.

~threadbear~ wrote:

GreekHoneyBee wrote:

Arianwen wrote:I sympathise - metallics are a nightmare. Have you tried thread heaven?

No I haven't even heard of it, what is it please?

http://www.xstitch4u.com/acatalog/Thread_Heaven.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

This explains it.
It basically coats the threads, making them more manageable.

Thanks for that link, very useful. I can't believe I've stitched for so many years and have never heard of that I'll have to get some.
I'm leaving the bullion knots til last, I'm just finishing all the backstitch now and attaching the beads