Crab in a scalloped ring hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 4 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Crab in a scalloped ring: preview of the stitched design

A crab is seen from above with both claws raised, inside a scalloped ring. The broad rust shell is long and short stitch, with two crescents of bare cloth left on each side. Four orange satin stitch legs curve out from each side of the shell, each narrowing to its tip. The arms rise from the upper corners of the shell to the claws: each claw has two halves, the larger outer half in orange long and short stitch and the smaller inner half in orange satin stitch, like the arms. The eyes are navy French knots on short orange satin stitch eye stalks. The scalloped ring is turquoise stem stitch with a turquoise French knot in every scallop.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses long and short stitch.

4 colors of floss and 4 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.9 × 1.9 in	4.8 × 4.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.8 in	7.1 × 7.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.7 × 3.7 in	9.4 × 9.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.7 × 4.7 in	11.9 × 11.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.5 × 6.5 in	16.5 × 16.5 cm	3/8 in (10 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 597 TurquoiseScalloped ring and knots in the scallops
DMC 922 Light CopperLegs, arms, claws and eye stalks
DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaShell
DMC 336 Navy BlueEyes

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 strandsScalloped ring
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots in the scallops, eyes
Satin stitch 2 strandsLegs, arms, inner halves of the claws, eye stalks
Long and short stitch 1 or 2 strandsOuter halves of the claws, shell

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.