{"title":"How to Do a Bullion Knot (Plus an Easy Bullion Rose)","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/embroidery/how-to-do-a-bullion-knot","category":{"slug":"embroidery","name":"Embroidery"},"creator":{"name":"Cutesy Crafts","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFsxhoMe7j-NyOzHeWLHcbg","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjtmOTLw5hM"},"tldr":"How to do a bullion knot: wrap floss around a milliner needle, pinch and pull it through, then anchor it. Plus a simple bullion rose.","quickAnswer":"How to do a bullion knot: wrap floss around a milliner needle, pinch and pull it through, then anchor it. A medium project: about 30 minutes. You need 6 things, including 6-strand cotton embroidery floss, cotton or linen blend fabric and milliner needle. The 10 steps start with pick a Long Milliner Needle for Bullion Knots and go Down at the End of the Bullion Knot Line and Leave a Loop.","totalDurationSeconds":388,"videoDurationSeconds":388,"difficulty":"medium","project":{"difficulty":"medium","projectMinutes":30,"waitMinutes":null,"totalMinutes":30,"estimatedCost":null,"yield":null},"tools":["milliner needle","embroidery hoop","embroidery scissors","water soluble fabric pen"],"materials":["6-strand cotton embroidery floss","cotton or linen blend fabric"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Pick a Long Milliner Needle for Bullion Knots","text":"Start with the right needle. A milliner needle has an eye the same width as the rest of the shaft, so it slides out of the wraps without dragging them apart. It is also long enough to hold a lot of wraps. A regular embroidery needle works for a practice knot or two, but the milliner makes the whole stitch a lot easier and saves you from fighting every coil."},{"number":2,"title":"Go Down at the End of the Bullion Knot Line and Leave a Loop","text":"Draw a short line where you want the knot. Bring the needle up from the back at the start of the line. Then go down at the far end, but do not pull the thread all the way through. Leave a good sized loop of floss on top of the fabric. That loop becomes the wraps, so give yourself plenty to work with."},{"number":3,"title":"Bring the Needle Back Up at the Start of the Bullion Knot","text":"From the back, bring the needle up again at the very start of the line, right next to where the thread first came out. Stop when the needle is about halfway through the fabric. Leave it standing there. The loop should still be lying on top, and the needle point is now where you will wrap the thread."},{"number":4,"title":"Wrap the Floss Around the Needle for the Bullion Coil","text":"Take the loop of thread and wind it around the needle, close to the fabric. Push each wrap down so they stack neatly side by side. Keep going until the coil of wraps, pressed snug, is about as long as your drawn line. For a straight knot like this one, that might be 15 to 20 wraps with six strands of floss."},{"number":5,"title":"Pinch the Bullion Wraps and Pull the Needle Through","text":"Hold the wraps lightly between your thumb and pointer finger. Push the needle up from the back as far as it will go, then pull it out through the top, still pinching. The thread slides through the middle of the coil. Keep your grip on the wraps the whole time so they do not unravel or bunch."},{"number":6,"title":"Lay the Bullion Knot Flat and Anchor the End","text":"Keep pulling the thread off to the side the knot will lie, here to the right. The coil tightens and settles onto the line. Use a fingertip to smooth the wraps straight. Then take the needle back down in the hole at the end of the line to lock the knot in place. That is one bullion knot. Make a second one to practice."},{"number":7,"title":"Stitch a French Knot in the Center of the Bullion Rose","text":"Once the straight knots feel comfortable, try a rose. Cutesy Crafts starts it with a French knot in the middle of the drawn circle. Bring the needle up at the center, wrap the thread around it a couple of times, and go back down right next to the same hole. This little bump is the bud that the bullion petals curl around."},{"number":8,"title":"Add the First Short Bullion Knots Around the Rose Center","text":"Bring the needle up near the top of the French knot and down near the bottom, leaving a loop. Come back up at the first point and wrap. These first knots are short, so they need fewer wraps. Pinch, pull the needle out, and pull the thread in the direction the knot should lie. Then go down at its end."},{"number":9,"title":"Work the Bullion Knots in a Pinwheel to Build the Rose","text":"Rather than start each new knot in a fresh spot, start it near the end of the last one, slightly to the outside. Each knot overlaps the one before, so they spiral around the center like a pinwheel. As the rose grows, make the knots longer and add a few more wraps so they curve. Skip over small ones when you need to widen the circle."},{"number":10,"title":"Finish the Bullion Rose and Check Its Shape","text":"Keep adding knots until the rose fills your drawn circle, then tie off on the back. Here is the finished lavender rose beside the two straight practice knots. Do not worry if yours is a little lopsided. The creator redid hers about three times. Bullion roses take practice, and you can make them as small or as large as you like."}],"commonProblems":[],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-10-21T13:58:49.121Z","published":"2026-10-21T13:58:48.688Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit Show Me Step by Step with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure. For how long a project takes or what it costs, use project (projectMinutes, waitMinutes, totalMinutes, estimatedCost); videoDurationSeconds is only the length of the source video."}