December birth flower, holly hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

December birth flower, holly: preview of the stitched design

The name DECEMBER stands in block capitals between two sprays of leaves, one arching over it and one cupping it from below, each with a sprig of holly, a birth flower of December, at its middle. Each sprig of holly is three spined leaves in satin stitch, one upright and one leaning out to each side, fanned above three berries in satin stitch, one over two; the letters are satin stitch across each stroke, and the leaves are satin stitch on stem stitch branches.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: short satin stitches, no shading; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

4 colors of floss and 2 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 × 1.7 in	4.8 × 4.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.5 in	7.1 × 6.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.8 × 3.4 in	9.7 × 8.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.7 × 4.2 in	11.9 × 10.7 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.6 × 5.9 in	16.8 × 15 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenBranches, darker half of each leaf and darker half of each holly leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf and lighter half of each holly leaf
DMC 304 Medium RedHolly berries
DMC 336 Navy BlueLetters

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 strandsBranches
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), holly leaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), holly berries, letters

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.