Long french knot

 
This is a decorative stitch. We can also say it is a motif stitch which can be used for the purpose of making flower pistils or similar looking patterns. There is not much hassle in doing the pistil stitch and is just a variation of the french knot. I would say, pistil stitch is to french knot just the way long tailed daisy is to lazy daisy! The only difference is a little longer tail.
It is good if you have the knowledge of french knot before begining this stitch.

Fig 1: Bring the needle out through the fabric, say, from point A. Place the needle near A to the point where you want to put in the needle. Wrap the thread around the needle twice as shown.		Fig 2: Keep the longer end of the thread pulled with the other hand, as you would while doing the french knot. This keeps the wrap securely held to the needle. Put the needle in through the other end, say point B. You will finish one pistil stitch.
		Fig 3: This is how a small gathering of pistil stich will look like.

French Knot

French knot is one of the easiest of all knots. Interestingly, however, it is often hailed as the one of the most difficult-to-handle or difficult-to-do stitches. This, so much so, that learners often end up hating to do this stitch. I personally feel it is one of the most creatively use-able stitches once learnt, and not much of a deal.
This stitch is used as a motiff stitch to do little flowers, or as a filling stitch to fill in small circles and centre of flowers. Many closely done french knots can give a ‘woolly’ appearance and can be used creatively. You use both hands to do this stitch, so I would advise you read the instructions also to understand the illustrations.

Fig 1: Bring the needle out through A.		Fig 2: Now, place the needle close to the fabric. Wrap the thread around it twice, as shown.
Fig 3: Keep the longer end of the thread pulled with your fingers while putting the needle back in a point just close to A or even through A.  This is probably what you have to master. The trick is: if you are holding the needle with your right hand fingers, wrap the thread and hold it pulled with your left hand fingers. Vice versa.  This makes it easy to pull back the needle without the risk of pulling out of the wrapped thread, to put it back into the point A. If this seems difficult for you, try this: after wrapping the thread, turn the needle around about 180 degrees and then try to put it in A or near A.		Fig 4: Pull down the needle through the fabric. You will see your first french knot formed

Windsor Knot

The Windsor Knot is a thick, wide and triangular tie knot that projects confidence. It would therefore be your knot of choice for presentations, job interviews, courtroom appearances etc. It is best suited for spread collar shirts and it's actually quite easy to do.

While just about everyone can use this tie knot to tie his tie, it looks especially well on men with longer necks as its wide form shortens the perceived height of the neck a little bit.

To tie the Windsor Knot, select a necktie of your choice and stand in front of a mirror. Then simply follow the steps below:

	1) Start with the wide end ("W") of your necktie on the right, extending about 12 inches below the narrow end ("N") on the left.
	2) Then cross the wide end over the narrow end.
	3) Bring the wide end up through the loop between the collar and your tie.
	4) Then bring the wide end back down.
	5) Pull the wide end underneath the narrow end and to the right, back through the loop and to the right again so that the wide end is inside out.
	6) Bring the wide end across the front from right to left.
	7) Then pull the wide end up through the loop again.
	8) Bring the wide end down through the knot in front.
	9) And -- using both hands -- tighten the knot carefully and draw it up to the collar.

Congratulations, you did it! You see, it is not rocket science after all. Simply keep practicing the Windsor Knot a few more times until you can tie this necktie knot within less than two minutes.