Ribbon bow hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 2 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Ribbon bow: preview of the stitched design

A ribbon bow has two full loops, a plump knot in the middle and two tails that wave as they hang and end in swallowtail notches. The loops and tails are outlined in stem stitch, the fold lines that spring from the knot are back stitch and the knot is satin stitch.

Size and details

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

2 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)	1.7 × 1.3 in	4.3 × 3.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 1.9 in	6.4 × 4.8 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 2.6 in	8.4 × 6.6 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.2 × 3.2 in	10.7 × 8.1 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.8 × 4.5 in	14.7 × 11.4 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 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseBow tails, bow loops and bow knot
DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaBow folds

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 strandsBow tails, bow loops
Back stitch 2 strandsBow folds
Satin stitch 2 strandsBow knot

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.