Couching six-petal flower hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Couching six-petal flower: preview of the stitched design

A flower of six pointed petals stands on a ring of cord at the center. Each petal is two cords: an outer arch in dark purple that rises from the ring to a point, and inside it an inner arch in light purple, a narrower pointed loop that also stands on the ring. The ring of cord at the center is dark purple and is filled with gold French knots. Couching does most of the work: each arch and the ring is a thick cord laid on the cloth and tied down by short gold tying stitches set across it at equal steps.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses couching and dozens of French knots.

3 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.6 × 1.9 in	4.1 × 4.8 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 2.8 in	6.1 × 7.1 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 3.7 in	8.4 × 9.4 cm
6 in (15 cm)	4.1 × 4.7 in	10.4 × 11.9 cm
8 in (20 cm)	5.7 × 6.5 in	14.5 × 16.5 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 208 Very Dark LavenderOuter arches of the petals and ring of cord at the center
DMC 210 Medium LavenderInner arches of the petals
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawTying stitches of the petals, tying stitches of the ring and knots 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

Couching 6 strands for the cord, 1 strand for the tying stitchesOuter arches of the petals, inner arches of the petals, ring of cord at the center, tying stitches of the petals, tying stitches of the ring
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.