Cathedral window quilt hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 7 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Cathedral window quilt: preview of the stitched design

A cathedral window quilt has nine windows set three by three, and the whole is stood on its point: each window is a square whose four sides bow inward, touching its neighbors at its four tips. Every window is filled with satin stitch in four facets that run from its middle to its tips, with a hairline of bare cloth between the facets, in five blues and teals row by row from the lightest at the top to navy at the foot. In the pointed oval along every side of every window lies one gold lens of satin stitch laid across, twenty-four in all, so that the twelve at the rim make a scalloped edge, and a coral French knot sits on each of the sixteen joints.

Size and details

Intermediate. Satin stitch over about a fifth of the cloth in a 6 inch hoop.

7 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 × 1.6 in	4.1 × 4.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.3 × 2.3 in	5.8 × 5.8 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.1 × 3.1 in	7.9 × 7.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.9 × 3.9 in	9.9 × 9.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.5 × 5.5 in	14 × 14 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)

In a 3 inch hoop the French knots are drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for them 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 3811 Very Light TurquoiseWindow at the top
DMC 598 Light TurquoiseWindows of the second row
DMC 597 TurquoiseWindows of the middle row
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseWindows of the fourth row
DMC 336 Navy BlueWindow at the foot
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawLenses in the ovals
DMC 351 CoralKnots on the joints

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 strandsWindow at the top, windows of the second row, windows of the middle row, windows of the fourth row, window at the foot, lenses in the ovals
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots on the joints

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.