Dogwood coaster hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 6 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Dogwood coaster: preview of the stitched design

A round design for a coaster shows one dogwood seen face on: four broad bracts, the leaves that look like its petals, worked in two whites, the left and right pair a shade warmer than the upper and lower, each notched at its tip, about a green button set with seven knots. Four leaves in fishbone stitch spring from behind it like a star, with three French knots between each pair, inside an edge of sixteen scallops in stem stitch; the flower is worked in long and short stitch, satin stitch and French knots.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses long and short stitch and a little satin stitch; from a 5 inch hoop up the satin stitches are long.

6 colors of floss and 5 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.
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 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLeaves and dogwood button
DMC 3865 Winter WhiteLeft and right dogwood bracts
DMC B5200 Snow WhiteUpper and lower dogwood bracts
DMC 726 Light TopazDogwood button knots
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawKnots between the leaves
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenScalloped edge

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 strandsLeaves
Long and short stitch 1 or 2 strandsLeft and right dogwood bracts, upper and lower dogwood bracts
Satin stitch 2 strandsDogwood button
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsDogwood button knots, knots between the leaves
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsScalloped edge

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.