Diamond chain edging hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Diamond chain edging: preview of the stitched design

A chain of navy diamonds in back stitch, joined point to point, runs along the band, with a small red diamond of satin stitch inside each and a gold French knot above and below every join. Trace it again end to end for a longer hem, towel or tablecloth.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: back stitch and French knots, with some short satin stitches; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

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)	2 × 0.3 in	5.1 × 0.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.9 × 0.5 in	7.4 × 1.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.9 × 0.6 in	9.9 × 1.5 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.9 × 0.8 in	12.4 × 2 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.9 × 1.1 in	17.5 × 2.8 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)

In a 3 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 336 Navy BlueDiamonds
DMC 304 Medium RedSmall diamonds
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawKnots

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

Back stitch 2 strandsDiamonds
Satin stitch 2 strandsSmall diamonds
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots

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.