Trinity knot hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 2 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Trinity knot: preview of the stitched design

A trinity knot is one endless ribbon drawn in three pointed loops, going over and under itself in turn where the loops cross. Both edges of the ribbon are stem stitch, a line of running stitch goes down its middle and a single French knot sits in the small triangle at the heart.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in two colors.

2 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch, all of them line stitches and knots:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 1.3 in	3.8 × 3.3 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2 in	5.6 × 5.1 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 2.7 in	7.6 × 6.9 cm
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 3.3 in	9.4 × 8.4 cm
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 4.7 in	13.2 × 11.9 cm

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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenRibbon edges
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawStitching down the ribbon and center

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 strandsRibbon edges
Running stitch 3 strandsStitching down the ribbon
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsCenter

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.