How to Hand Tie a Quilt; Free Tutorial with Video

Learn how to hand tie a quilt to finish your next quilt. This is a perfect technique to finish a utilitarian quilt like a baby quilt or lap throw. It’s a quick and easy way to get that quilt finished, while adding some great texture to the quilt top. No sewing machine needed, and you don’t need to learn about machine quilting or using a walking foot!

A hand-tied quilt is softer to cuddle up in because it doesn’t have a lot of stitching to hold the layers together. You can use yarn, embroidery floss, perle cotton, and even thin ribbon to tie a quilt. if you can thread it through your needle, you can use it to tie your quilt!

Once you have your quilt top done and sandwiched with batting (or wadding) and backing, you are ready to plan the tying. You’ll want to secure the layers by basting the layers of the quilt together, use large safety pins to hold the layers together or quilt basting spray. NOTE: If you use quilt basting spray, make sure to use it outside or a highly ventilated area.

Add a touch of vintage charm to your next quilt by tying it!

Planning your hand-tied quilt

Take a look at your quilt pattern. Are there regular intervals across the top that would be perfect for a tuft of embroidery floss or yarn? Here is a close-up of a bow-tie quilt that was tied in the solid color areas across the quilt top with #8 perle cotton. Hand stitching was added to sashing around each block.

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Example of a bow-tie quilt that was hand-tied.

With today’s batting, it is strong enough that you don’t need the knots too close together. Check your batting package. They usually have a note on how far apart you should stitch for quilting. The rule of thumb is to have the knots no more than 4-5″ apart across the quilt top. Closer is no problem!

The traditional way to tie a quilt to finish it is to use a strong knot, like a surgeon’s knot or a square knot. I prefer the surgeon’s knot. This quilting technique is beginner-friendly and an easy way to finish larger quilts.

Vote art quilt from cracker quilt blocks made by Lynn Woll — Vote, 2024, 33″ x 33″. Upcycled vintage Cracker quilt blocks with digitally cut words, machine quilted and hand-tied with silk ribbon. Quilt blocks gifted to me by Tina Davis.

How to stitch a surgeon’s knot to tie a quilt

Start by threading your needle with your embroidery thread, floss, yarn, ribbon, or whatever! And, have your quilt sandwiched with the quilt top, batting and backing.

From the top of the quilt, take a stitch about 1/4-inch wide through all of the quilt layers. Make sure that the thread goes all of the way through to the back of the quilt. Note: Do not tie a knot at the end of your thread. We want both ends to be loose threads.

Bring your needle through and make sure that one of the tails of the thread stays on one side of the stitch. We want both ends to be able to make a knot.

Make a loop like you are tying your shoe, twisting one thread through the loop.

Make a simple loop like tying your shoe to start tying a quilt

To make the knot stronger, take the end of the thread and wrap it through the loop a second time.

Make a second wrap around the loop to tie your quilt

Gently pull both ends of the thread to close the knot. Make sure to not pull to much that would pucker the quilt.

Gently pull the loop closed for the first part of the knot to tie a quilt

Next, we’ll loop the threads again to make a double knot.

Do this step a second time to make a full surgeon's knot to tie your quilt

Once again, wrap the thread a second time through the loop.

Loop the thread again through the second loop to make the surgeon's knot to tie a quilt

Gently pull the knot closed again, making sure not to pucker the quilt.

Gently pull the second loop closed to finish the tie for a quilt

Here are three finished knots. Two using #8 perle cotton and one with 6-strand embroidery floss.

Here is an example of using silk ribbon to tie a quilt. After tying the knot, I left the ends long and tied a bow. I thought they fit the quilt.

Tips to hand tie a quilt

Using wool yarn or ribbon? Try using a tapestry needle with a larger eye and a needle threader. This Clover needle threader is my favorite one for pulling thicker threads through the eye of the needle.
Start in the center of your quilt and work towards the edges. This will help eliminate puckers on the back of your quilt.
Thicker needles may be hard to push and pull through the layers of the quilt. I use a thimble to push the needle through and a needle puller or a rubber thumb tip to help pull the needle to the front side of the quilt.
The recommended distance between ties is 4-5 inches. If your quilt top doesn’t have natural places to tie the knots, use your hand to measure between knots. It’s an easy and great way to quickly measure and tie a quilt.
If you want to mark the front of the quilt with where you want the ties, use a removable fabric marking pen and make a small dot where you want each tie.
Work with a long length of thread. It makes it easier to tie your knot without your fingers and thumbs in the way!
For a modern look, instead of a knot with fringe, you can stitch an X, or do a simple knot like a French knot or Colonial knot. If you do these stitches, you’ll need to bury the finished tails into the quilt sandwich.