Foolproof French Knot Tree Embroidery Tutorial
For many stitchers, trees are notoriously hard to figure out. They felt extremely daunting to me when I first tried embroidering them. It took many attempts until I came up with a simple, foolproof process that I will share with you today.
There are of course many ways to embroider a tree, but I find the most straight forward way to learn how is with French knot trees. I love them because they can be as complicated, simple, realistic, or abstract as you want.
This tutorial is somewhere in the happy middle – I definitely wasn’t trying to achieve realistic perfection, but I tried to include a good amount of different shades of green to breath more life into the tree.
First, I’ll share with you some tips for designing the embroidery, then I’ll go over the order in which they’re easiest to stitch, and finally, I’ll break down each step in the process.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase an item.
Recommended Supplies
- Precensia embroidery floss (or similar) – Colonial Needle
- John James Signature Collection Size 8 embroidery needles – Colonial Needle
- Kona cotton fabric – Amazon
- Maker Susan embroidery hoop – Amazon
- Frixion heat erasable pen – Amazon
How To Embroider A Simple French Knot Tree
Draw the Trunk and Branches
For trees that you plan to fill in with French knots, I usually only mark out the tree trunk and the main branches to start out. This will help guide the overall shape of the tree while preventing it from looking too blocky or stiff, which can happen when definitive shapes are used to outline the areas where the leaves will be filled in.
Trees can be tricky to draw, so it’s helpful to have a few reference photos handy. You can either directly reference the photo or just study the general shape and composition while you’re designing and stitching.
Start by drawing the trunk and a few lines for the main branches. Then add a few offshoots of smaller branches. Remember to try and keep it simple right now; you can add in some of the even smaller branches later!
Embroidering The Tree
I find it easiest to start at the base of the trunk, extending the stitches along the main branches. Then I begin to add in French knots to the tree, working from dark to light. I make sure to overlap some of these knots on top of the branches. Once I’m happy with the amount of leaves and colors used, I’ll add in finer details like more tiny branches.
Stitching in this order allows you to gradually shape and add more and more detail to the tree. It’s all about breaking things down into bite-sized pieces!
Fill in the Trunk and Branches
Using 2 strands of thread, start at the base of the tree trunk. Make long and short stitches along the trunk and up into the smaller branches. When you get to the narrower tips of the branches, switch to a split stitch.
To keep things simple, I only used one color of brown floss. You can add in more colors for the highlights and shadows if you want the tree to look more lifelike.
At this stage, your tree is going to look as bare and lifeless as a winter, but soon enough things will start coming together…
Embroider The Leaves With French Knots
For the leaves, it’s helpful to use several shades of green to make it look a bit more real. Using 1 color is fine if you want to keep it simple, but sometimes it turns out looking rather flat.
I prefer to work dark to light when I fill in the leaves. For this example, I stuck with 1-3 wraps to vary the sizes of the knots.
- First, scatter in some French knots of dark green using 2 strands of thread. These knots can overlap on top of the branches and the tree trunk.
- Thread the next darkest color onto your needle and begin filling in even more areas of the branches with French knots. With this color, add some more knots next to the darker stitches, but also begin to extend them out a little ways off of the main branches. It’s ok if some of the knots appear to be floating or if everything looks a bit sparse right now.
- With a medium green, make even more French knots. At this point, it’s helpful to begin to start grouping the knots together to more densely fill in some of the areas. But remember to keep some of the branches exposed!
- Using the lightest color, add in more groups of French knots evenly throughout the tree.
- Finally, use 1 strand of brown floss to add a few thin branches that begin along the tips of the main branches and end along the groups of leaves along the edges.
- Take a look at the overall composition of the tree. Do the leaves and colors appear balanced? Are you happy with the shape of the tree? If you feel like you need to add more knots or colors, go back through and add some more.
It’s easy to over-fill trees, which can make them look very unnatural. Just as you would see light and sky through the trees in nature, it’s important to keep some negative space in between some of the branches and the leaves!
And there you have it! Once you get the hang of the process, it’s surprisingly simple to do.
Watch The Youtube Video
Learn More
Want to learn how to embroider other kinds of trees? Check out this pine tree tutorial or this embroidered Christmas tree tutorial for more.
Amanda is a hand embroidery teacher and artist. With over 15 years of experience in the craft industry and embroidery, she owns and runs Crewel Ghoul, sharing accessible tutorials and patterns to help inspire fellow crafters to get creative. In addition to running this website, she teaches on Skillshare and Youtube.
