Carpenter’s star block hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 7 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Carpenter’s star block: preview of the stitched design

Here the carpenter’s star, also called the carpenter’s wheel, has no stitched seams: a star of eight diamonds meets under a gold woven wheel in the middle, with a square of bare cloth in each notch and three diamonds fanned on each of its tips, thirty-two diamonds in all, with a hairline of bare cloth between them. Every diamond is filled with satin stitch, in three blues from navy at the middle to sky blue at the tips. The eight squares are left open. Round the whole runs a wreath: a ring of stem stitch with four coral woven wheel roses on it, at the top, the foot and the two sides, and from rose to rose seven pairs of broad fishbone stitch leaves, the outer leaves in one green and the inner in another.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses woven wheels and a great deal of stitching.

7 colors of floss and 4 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.9 × 1.9 in	4.8 × 4.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.9 × 2.9 in	7.4 × 7.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.8 × 3.8 in	9.7 × 9.7 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.8 × 4.8 in	12.2 × 12.2 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.7 × 6.7 in	17 × 17 cm	7/16 in (11 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 336 Navy BlueEight diamonds of the star in the middle
DMC 322 Dark Baby BlueTwo diamonds beside each tip
DMC 3755 Baby BlueDiamond at each tip
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawWoven wheel in the middle
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenRing of the wreath and outer leaves of the wreath
DMC 989 Forest GreenInner leaves of the wreath
DMC 351 CoralRoses on the wreath

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 strandsEight diamonds of the star in the middle, two diamonds beside each tip, diamond at each tip
Woven wheel stitch 2 strandsWoven wheel in the middle, roses on the wreath
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsRing of the wreath
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsOuter leaves of the wreath, inner leaves of the wreath

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.