Piped cupcake hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Piped cupcake: preview of the stitched design

A cupcake seen from the front has a pleated paper case under a mound of piped frosting made of three full rolls, each narrower than the one below and each with a groove that winds into a curl inside its two rounded ends, topped by a round dome with a cherry nestled in its crown. The outlines of the frosting and the case are stem stitch, the grooves and the pleats are back stitch and the cherry is satin stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 5 inch hoop up.

3 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)	1.4 × 1.8 in	3.6 × 4.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.1 × 2.7 in	5.3 × 6.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.8 × 3.6 in	7.1 × 9.1 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.5 × 4.5 in	8.9 × 11.4 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.9 × 6.2 in	12.4 × 15.7 cm	3/4 in (19 mm)

In a 6 or 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) or more 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 3809 Very Dark TurquoisePleats of the case and paper case
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseLowest roll of frosting, second roll of frosting, third roll of frosting, dome of the frosting and grooves of the piping
DMC 304 Medium RedCherry

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

Back stitch 2 strandsPleats of the case, grooves of the piping
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsPaper case, lowest roll of frosting, second roll of frosting, third roll of frosting, dome of the frosting
Satin stitch 2 strandsCherry

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.