Sunray octagon medallion hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Sunray octagon medallion: preview of the stitched design

A sunray medallion is set in an octagon. The frame is a teal satin stitch band inside a navy stem stitch line; each of the band’s eight sides is worked by itself, its stitches across the band. Inside it sixteen satin stitch rays, gold and teal by turns, stand at equal steps, widen from the rim of the center and end square. The center is a disc of navy satin stitch inside a navy back stitch ring and a navy stem stitch rim.

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)	1.8 × 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	5/16 in (8 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	1/2 in (13 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.3 × 6.3 in	16 × 16 cm	11/16 in (17 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 336 Navy BlueLine of the frame, center, rim of the center and ring of the center
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseBand of the frame and teal rays
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawGold rays

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 strandsLine of the frame, rim of the center
Satin stitch 2 strandsBand of the frame, rays, center
Back stitch 2 strandsRing of the center

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.