Boho rainbow hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 1 kind of stitch

Boho rainbow: preview of the stitched design

A boho rainbow has four wide bands with cloth showing between them, in terracotta, copper, gold and sage green. Each band is one arch of satin stitch with round feet, the stitches lying across the band and turning with it as it curves. The bands are broad, so keep the stitches close and let them fan gently round the bend.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading.

4 colors of floss and 1 kind of stitch:

Satin stitch
Which stitch goes where

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 0.8 in	3.8 × 2 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 1.2 in	5.6 × 3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 1.6 in	7.6 × 4.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 2 in	9.4 × 5.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 2.8 in	13.2 × 7.1 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)

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

What you need

DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaOuter band
DMC 922 Light CopperSecond band
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawThird band
DMC 989 Forest GreenInner band

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 strandsBands

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.