Dahlia coaster hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Dahlia coaster: preview of the stitched design

A round design for a coaster shows one dahlia seen face on: three packed rings of blunt pointed petals, sixteen, sixteen and eight, about a center set with seven knots. Eight leaves in fishbone stitch spring from behind it like a star, with a French knot between each pair, inside an edge of sixteen scallops in stem stitch; the flower is worked in satin stitch and French knots.

Size and details

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

5 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)	1.8 × 1.8 in	4.6 × 4.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 2.7 in	6.9 × 6.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.6 × 3.6 in	9.1 × 9.1 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.5 × 4.5 in	11.4 × 11.4 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.3 × 6.3 in	16 × 16 cm	5/8 in (16 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 5/8 in (16 mm) 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.
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 989 Forest GreenLeaves
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseDahlia outer petals, dahlia inner petals and knots between the leaves
DMC 152 Medium Light Shell PinkDahlia middle petals and dahlia center
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawDahlia center knots
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenScalloped edge

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 strandsLeaves
Satin stitch 2 strandsDahlia outer petals, dahlia middle petals, dahlia inner petals, dahlia center
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsDahlia center knots, knots between the leaves
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsScalloped edge

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.