Daisy chain mandala hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Daisy chain mandala: preview of the stitched design

The mandala is made of daisy petals: seven French knots in the middle, a ring of twelve lazy daisy loops round them, a ring of green chain stitch, and beyond it twenty-four more loops with a yellow French knot at the tip of each, inside a rim of twenty-four back stitch scallops. The loops are white, so choose a colored cloth if you want them to stand out. Every ring repeats evenly, so it can be stitched a wedge at a time.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in three colors.

3 colors of floss and 4 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 1.5 in	3.8 × 3.8 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2.2 in	5.6 × 5.6 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 3 in	7.6 × 7.6 cm
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 3.7 in	9.4 × 9.4 cm
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 5.2 in	13.2 × 13.2 cm

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 726 Light TopazKnots in the middle and knots
DMC B5200 Snow WhiteLoops
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenRing and scallops

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

French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots in the middle, knots
Lazy daisy stitch 2 strandsLoops
Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsRing
Back stitch 2 strandsScallops

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.