Blank coat of arms hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 6 kinds of stitch

Blank coat of arms: preview of the stitched design

A blank coat of arms has a plain shield with a five-point crown resting on its top edge, a laurel branch curving up each side from a crossing under the point, and an empty ribbon below with a tail folded behind each end. The shield, crown, ribbon and stems are stem stitch, the line inside the shield is back stitch, the laurel leaves are fishbone stitch, the lines inside the ribbon are running stitch, the two small folds are satin stitch and the pearls and jewels on the crown are French knots.

Size and details

Easy. Line stitches, fishbone stitch and French knots, with a little satin stitch.

3 colors of floss and 6 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 × 1.6 in	3.8 × 4.1 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.3 × 2.5 in	5.8 × 6.4 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.1 × 3.3 in	7.9 × 8.4 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.8 × 4.1 in	9.7 × 10.4 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.4 × 5.8 in	13.7 × 14.7 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)

In a 3 or 4 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 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLaurel leaves and laurel stems
DMC 336 Navy BlueShield, line inside the shield, jewels on the band and ribbon
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawCrown, top of the crown band, pearls on the crown, folds of the ribbon and stitching inside the ribbon

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

Fishbone stitch 2 strandsLaurel leaves
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsLaurel stems, shield, crown, ribbon
Back stitch 2 strandsLine inside the shield, top of the crown band
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsPearls on the crown, jewels on the band
Satin stitch 2 strandsFolds of the ribbon
Running stitch 3 strandsStitching inside the ribbon

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.