Coral stitch dahlia hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Coral stitch dahlia: preview of the stitched design

A dahlia seen face on makes a small practice piece for coral stitch, a line stitch with a small knot tied on it at even steps. A garnet ring at the center holds nine gold French knots. Around the ring stands the first row of petals, eight small petals in coral thread. The second row of petals is garnet and larger, each petal an arch from the tip of one petal of the first row to the tip of the next, and the third row of petals, in coral thread again, springs from the tips of the second in the same way. The lines and knots of all three rows are coral stitch, and so is the ring, whose only knots are the eight where the petals of the first row stand on it.

Size and details

Intermediate. More than a hundred knots.

3 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.9 × 1.9 in	4.8 × 4.8 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.9 × 2.9 in	7.4 × 7.4 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3.9 × 3.9 in	9.9 × 9.9 cm
6 in (15 cm)	4.9 × 4.9 in	12.4 × 12.4 cm
8 in (20 cm)	6.8 × 6.8 in	17.3 × 17.3 cm

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 815 Medium GarnetRing at the center, and lines and knots of the second row of petals
DMC 351 CoralLines and knots of the first row of petals, and lines and knots of the third row of petals
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawKnots at the 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

Coral stitch 2 strandsRing at the center, lines and knots of the first row of petals, lines and knots of the second row of petals, lines and knots of the third row of petals
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots at the center

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.