Birdbath with ripples and daisies hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 6 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Birdbath with ripples and daisies: preview of the stitched design

A birdbath is seen from the front on a strip of green grass, with a daisy at each side. The rim of the basin is a thin gray line, and inside it two blue ripples circle a drop. Below the lip, which is the thick gray band across the front, the basin has nine upright stripes, pale blue-gray and gray by turns. A collar joins the basin to the stem, which stands on a foot ring over a plinth of two steps. Each daisy has eight pink petals round a gold center on a green daisy stem with two pairs of leaves. The rim is stem stitch, the ripples are chain stitch, the drop is a French knot, the leaves are fishbone stitch and the rest is satin stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Satin stitch over about a sixth of the cloth in a 6 inch hoop; from a 6 inch hoop up some of the satin stitches are long.

6 colors of floss and 5 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 1.6 in	3.8 × 4.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.3 × 2.3 in	5.8 × 5.8 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 3.1 in	7.6 × 7.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.8 × 3.9 in	9.7 × 9.9 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.3 × 5.4 in	13.5 × 13.7 cm	9/16 in (14 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 9/16 in (14 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.
In a 3 inch hoop the French knot is drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for it there, or choose a larger hoop.

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 GrayRim of the basin, lip of the basin, gray stripes of the basin, collar, darker half of the stem, foot ring and lower step of the plinth
DMC 3755 Baby BlueRipples and drop
DMC 3752 Very Light Antique BluePale blue-gray stripes of the basin, lighter half of the stem and upper step of the plinth
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenDaisy stems, leaves and grass
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseDaisy petals
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawDaisy centers

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

Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsRim of the basin
Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsRipples
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsDrop
Satin stitch 2 strandsLip of the basin, stripes of the basin, collar, stem, foot ring, plinth, daisy stems, daisy petals, daisy centers, grass
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsLeaves

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.