Pilot4514, I don't remember which show it was, but there are a lot of you tubes on this topic. One I like is to use a waste (or away) knot on the front of the embroidery
piece away from where you are planning to stitch. You go down from the front with the knot on the front side of the embroidery and come up on the backside on the line where you plan to stitch. Take two tiny stab stitches on the line
near your start stitching point.Cover them with the stitches when you start actually doing your stitches. Then stitch regular. After an inch or so, cut the wasted knot and extra thread off. To finish cleanly most stitchers just weave back thru
some of the previous stitches and then cut off the thread. Hope this helps. HelenW I included a screenshot of a you tube you can google to actually watch it.