Celtic plait band hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Celtic plait band: preview of the stitched design

A straight band of knotwork is made of two endless cords that plait over and under each other in turn, part and close again at three places along the middle and turn back in a round loop at each corner. It lies between two ruled lines, with a dot in each of the six openings along the middle. Both edges of each cord are stem stitch, one cord teal and the other gold, the ruled lines are back stitch and the dots are French knots.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in three colors.

3 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)	1.8 × 0.6 in	4.6 × 1.5 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 1 in	6.9 × 2.5 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3.6 × 1.3 in	9.1 × 3.3 cm
6 in (15 cm)	4.5 × 1.6 in	11.4 × 4.1 cm
8 in (20 cm)	6.3 × 2.2 in	16 × 5.6 cm

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 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseFirst cord and ruled lines
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawSecond cord
DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaDots in the openings

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 strandsFirst cord, second cord
Back stitch 2 strandsRuled lines
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsDots in the openings

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.