Biplane seen from the front hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Biplane seen from the front: preview of the stitched design

A biplane is seen from straight in front, its two wings lifting toward their tips. The upper wing and the lower wing are red, joined by gray wing struts. In the middle sits the round engine cowl, outlined in navy stem stitch, with six gray cylinders standing out from the gold propeller hub and a brown propeller of two blades lying level across the cowl. Below, two gray wheel struts run down to the axle, with a navy wheel at each end. The wings, the struts, the axle, the cylinders, the propeller, the propeller hub and the wheels are satin stitch.

Size and details

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

5 colors of floss and 2 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 × 1.2 in	4.1 × 3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.3 × 1.8 in	5.8 × 4.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.1 × 2.3 in	7.9 × 5.8 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.9 × 2.9 in	9.9 × 7.4 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.5 × 4.1 in	14 × 10.4 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 414 Dark Steel GrayWing struts, wheel struts, axle and cylinders
DMC 304 Medium RedUpper wing and lower wing
DMC 336 Navy BlueEngine cowl outline and wheels
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownPropeller
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawPropeller hub

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 strandsWing struts, wheel struts, axle, upper wing, lower wing, cylinders, propeller, propeller hub, wheels
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsEngine cowl outline

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.