Cloud raining hearts hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 4 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Cloud raining hearts: preview of the stitched design

A happy cloud rains hearts. The cloud is one line of stem stitch, three round billows over a flat foot, with a second line of pale blue chain stitch just inside it; its laughing eyes and smile are curves of stem stitch and its cheeks are small rounds of satin stitch. Six hearts in satin stitch fall from it in a point, three, two and one, with a large rose heart at each corner of the point and a small pink one between each two.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 6 inch hoop up.

4 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)	1.5 × 1.7 in	3.8 × 4.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2.5 in	5.6 × 6.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 3.3 in	7.6 × 8.4 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 4.2 in	9.4 × 10.7 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 5.8 in	13.2 × 14.7 cm	9/16 in (14 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 9/16 in (14 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 336 Navy BlueCloud, and happy eyes and smile
DMC 3755 Baby BlueLine inside the cloud's edge
DMC 152 Medium Light Shell PinkCheeks and small hearts
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseLarge hearts

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 strandsCloud, happy eyes and smile
Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsLine inside the cloud's edge
Satin stitch 2 strandsCheeks, large hearts, small hearts

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.