French Knots vs. Colonial Knots

Many people ask "What's the difference between a french knot and a colonial knot"? Actually, quite a bit (in my opinion).

French knots a generally one twist of thread around your needle, resulting in a delicate, smaller knot. Perfect when you want little eyes, berries on a tiny tree, or a small grouping of flowers.

Colonial knots are two twists of thread around your needle, making a kind of figure eight pattern, Because you have one more twist of thread, this knot is going to be fuller and larger than a french knot. Colonial knots can also be manipulated more easily that a french know. For example, in the snowman above, if I felt that the brim of the hat wasn't circular enough after stitching the colonial knots. I used my thread to go into the edge of a colonial knot to gently pull the knot into the spot where I want it to be.

Colonial knots, when grouped close together, feel hard and compact. I use them in large areas as compared to making the delicate french knots needed on smaller areas.