Dahlia wheel sampler hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 6 kinds of stitch

Dahlia wheel sampler: preview of the stitched design

A round sampler sets a dahlia in the middle of three rings of ornament. The dahlia has twelve raspberry petals in fishbone stitch round a gold woven wheel center, with a ring of teal French knots between. Round it runs a waving green berry stem in stem stitch with a raspberry French knot berry in every hollow. Next comes a wreath of eight raspberry woven wheel roses on a green stem, with fishbone stitch leaves and a gold French knot berry between each two roses. The last ring is of satin stitch triangles, gold and teal by turns. Navy circles of stem stitch and chain stitch part the rings, and the border is navy chain stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses woven wheels and dozens of French knots.

5 colors of floss and 6 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	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 2.7 in	6.9 × 6.9 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.6 × 3.6 in	9.1 × 9.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.6 × 4.6 in	11.7 × 11.7 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.4 × 6.4 in	16.3 × 16.3 cm	1/4 in (6 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 3831 Dark RaspberryDahlia petals, berries and wreath roses
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawDahlia center, wreath berries and gold triangles of the ring
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseKnots round the dahlia center and teal triangles of the ring
DMC 336 Navy BlueCircles, chain stitch circle and border
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenBerry stem, wreath stem and wreath leaves

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 strandsDahlia petals, wreath leaves
Woven wheel stitch 2 strandsDahlia center, wreath roses
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots round the dahlia center, berries, wreath berries
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsCircles, berry stem, wreath stem
Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsChain stitch circle, border
Satin stitch 2 strandsRing of triangles

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.