Dragonfly with veined wings hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 4 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Dragonfly with veined wings: preview of the stitched design

A dragonfly is seen from above, with two large eyes, a long abdomen in seven segments and four long wings, each with a long vein, three branch veins that sweep to the hind edge and a small mark near the tip. The wings are stem stitch, the veins are back stitch, and the eyes, the two bands of the thorax, the segments of the abdomen and the wing marks are satin stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 6 inch hoop up.

4 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)	1.6 × 1.3 in	4.1 × 3.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 1.9 in	6.1 × 4.8 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.2 × 2.6 in	8.1 × 6.6 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4 × 3.2 in	10.2 × 8.1 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.6 × 4.5 in	14.2 × 11.4 cm	9/16 in (14 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 9/16 in (14 mm) 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 3852 Very Dark StrawMarks near the wing tips
DMC 336 Navy BlueFore wings, hind wings, right eye and left eye
DMC 3755 Baby BlueFore wing veins, hind wing veins, pale segments of the abdomen and back of the thorax
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseDark segments of the abdomen and front of the thorax

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

Satin stitch 2 strandsMarks near the wing tips, dark segments of the abdomen, pale segments of the abdomen, front of the thorax, back of the thorax, right eye, left eye
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsFore wings, hind wings
Back stitch 2 strandsFore wing veins, hind wing veins

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.