Knots, loops and line stitches · Intermediate
Turkey work
A pile stitch: thread loops, each tied to the canvas by a small flat stitch, left looped or cut into a soft pile.
How to work it
Leave a tail
With no knot in the thread, go down in the bottom row of the shape, one hole in from its left edge, leaving a long tail on the front. Come up one hole to the left, at the dot.
Lay a slack stitch
Go down two holes to the right of the dot, crossing over the tail's hole. Hold the slack above the row.
Pull the knot tight
Come up in the tail's hole, below the slack, without splitting the tail. Pull the slack into a flat stitch over two canvas threads.
Leave a loop
Go down one hole to the right of the flat stitch, leaving a loop below the row as long as the loops are to hang, or longer if they will be cut. Hold it under your thumb and come up one hole to the left, where the flat stitch ended.
Lock the loop
Go down two holes to the right, holding the slack above the row. Come up in the hole the loop went down in, below the slack, and pull tight.
Continue along the row
Repeat steps 4 and 5 along the row. After the last flat stitch, cut the thread on the front, leaving a tail. Nothing is fastened off: the knots hold.
Start the next row
Begin again with a new tail one canvas thread above the first and one hole to its right, so the loops hang between those below. Start the third row in line with the first, and fill the shape upward.
At a glance
- Also called
- Turkey stitch, Turkey rug knot, Ghiordes knot, rya stitch
- Used for
- fur on animals; fringe; beards and hair; flower centers; rabbit tails
- Coverage
- A raised pile
- Direction
- Horizontal, along the row
- Stitch length
- Over 2 canvas threads
Cut the loops or leave them. Left as loops, the pile needs only the tail at each end of a row trimmed to the loops' length. Cut ends stand up from the canvas: trimmed evenly they make a fringe; brushed, they fluff into fur, hair, a beard or the fuzzy center of a flower.
Cut when the shape is full: snip every loop open, then trim with very sharp scissors, about 1/16 inch (1 to 2 mm) at a time. Brush often with a small brush or a fingertip to raise any missed loop. Loops about 3/4 inch (2 cm) long leave room to trim to a low pile of 1/4 inch (6 mm); leave it taller where the design calls for it.
Wool is the first choice: its crimp keeps a loop or a cut end standing. Pearl cotton stands up well; soft silks go limp. For a fuller tuft, such as a rabbit's tail, thread the needle with several lengths.
For hair and beards in knots instead of a pile, use French knots or bullion knots.
Tips
- Work the pile last: it spreads over the stitches on each side.
- For even loops, form each over a pencil, knitting needle or straw.
- Work at least three tent stitches between the pile and any seam, or the seam will catch it.
When it goes wrong
- The row drifts out of line.
- As the thread was pulled up, it slipped between two canvas threads where they cross, and the row is out of step; the back of the canvas shows the row out of line. To prevent the slip, one designer pulls the thread forward along the row each time the needle comes up.
- One canvas thread is left over at the end of a row.
- Cover it with one more stitch of the area beside the pile; for cut pile, leave the last tail a little longer too.
Questions
- How is a thread ended mid-row?
- Cut it on the front, leaving a tail, once a flat stitch is pulled tight. Start the new length as the row began, its tail in the next empty hole.
- Do the loops have to be cut right away?
- No. They can wait until the piece is sewn together, and cut pile can be trimmed again later.