Knotty Problems: The Complexity of the Knot in Sewing

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to consider how the knot in plain sewing can represent a node within a larger human, social, and ritual analogy. Knots in hand sewing bind thread into stitches fixed to the desired area by securing each end of a seam or hem and connecting different thread lengths to make a longer one. Thus, knots enable fabric and thread to be turned into craftwork, and determine the identity of the work itself: its appearance, durability and stability. Besides its functional meaning, the knot is loaded with symbolism. Its ambiguous materiality has given the knot a crucial place in magic and religion, as well as in the formal and the social sciences. It may represent the durability of a relationship and, within it, the interdependence of the parties, or a problem that is hard or even impossible to solve; it can also assume a connotation of impurity, though not necessarily in a negative sense. Within this wider context, the combination of practice and theory can help identify some knotty problems.

Keywords:

• knot
• thread
• sewing
• impurity
• ambiguity
• node

Notes

1 Sewing has generally three functions: seaming, hemming and embroidery. Seaming relates to constructing, hemming to edge finishing, and embroidery to surface work. As a result, sewing has two purposes: functionality and decoration.

2 According to a legend, the person who could untie this impossibly intricate knot (found in the city of Gordion, hence the name) would rule over the world. Alexander the Great is credited to have cut off the knot by a blow of his sword—to subsequently become the ruler of the largest empire of antiquity. The metaphor appears in Shakespeare’s Henry V: “Turn him to any cause of policy, The Gordian Knot of it he will unloose, familiar as his garter” (Shakespeare 1773/2005, 8).

3 Küchler (2003) argues that quipu writing is bodily work into symbolic sign, thus it is easy to remember. This is also another reason for it to be used widely.

4 A figure-8 knot is made by picking up a very small backstitch, wrapping the thread around the point of the needle to form a figure 8, and pulling the needle through (Shaeffer 2011, 28). This places the knot at the very point where the sewing should be finished, when the needle comes out of the fabric.

5 Single- or double-threaded stitches are determined by the type of fabric used or by the area the stitch is made. A seam should be strong enough to hold when pulled or stretched because it is the structure of the cloth/clothes. Fabric is also important when deciding for a single or a double thread. If the fabric is sheer, a double thread will show more obviously than in thicker fabric. Thus, single thread is used instead of double. Also, the area is important. In the case of hemming, plover stitches are used between inner and outer fabric layers. Thus, there is a risk that the thread may show. In this case, a single thread is recommended.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hye Eun Kim

Hye Eun Kim studied her MA at London College of Fashion and PhD at Royal College of Art in UK. She is a designer, researcher and assistant professor in the fashion design department at Dong-Eui University in Korea. Her work has been exhibited internationally including China, France, Italy, Korea and UK. Her main interest is fabric and its changes through garment making and wearing in material culture from anthropological viewpoint. She published several articles in international and Korean journals related these issues. Her research was published in TEXTILE Cloth and Culture in 2019 and 2020. [email protected], [email protected]