Spinning top with stars hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 4 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Spinning top with stars: preview of the stitched design

This tin spinning top stands on its peg: it has a round knob on a long stem, a wide full body and a pointed peg, and across the body runs a band of five stars between two solid stripes, with five scallops standing on the upper stripe and three hanging from the lower one. The outline is stem stitch, the scallops are back stitch, and the stripes, the stars, the knob, the collar and the peg are satin stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 5 inch hoop up.

4 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.6 × 1.7 in	4.1 × 4.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 2.6 in	6.1 × 6.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.1 × 3.5 in	7.9 × 8.9 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.9 × 4.3 in	9.9 × 10.9 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.5 × 6 in	14 × 15.2 cm	5/8 in (16 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 5/8 in (16 mm) across. Satin stitches longer than about 12 mm (just under 1/2 in) tend to work loose: divide the shape into sections, or work it in long and short stitch.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 304 Medium RedStripes of the top and knob
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseScallops
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawStars and collar of the stem
DMC 336 Navy BlueStem of the top, body of the top and peg

The floss is six-strand cotton; the stitch guide says how many strands to use. You also need a hoop, an embroidery needle (a size 7 to 9 suits two or three strands) and plain cotton or linen fabric. To frame the piece in its hoop, cut a square 3 inches (8 cm) wider than the hoop: a 9 inch (23 cm) square for a 6 inch hoop.

Stitch guide

Satin stitch 2 strandsStripes of the top, stars, collar of the stem, knob, peg
Back stitch 2 strandsScallops
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsStem of the top, body of the top

Getting it onto your fabric

The PDF holds the pattern twice at actual size: once as drawn, and once mirrored for an iron-on transfer pen. Print it at 100% with scaling off and check the one-inch square (25.4 mm) with a ruler before you trace. How to transfer a pattern explains tracing, carbon paper and the other ways. The files are under Downloads.