Ducks and bulrushes hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 5 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Ducks and bulrushes: preview of the stitched design

Two ducks swim toward each other either side of a clump of bulrushes: each duck is outlined in stem stitch, with a scalloped wing, a pointed bill and a band across its neck in satin stitch, and a French knot for its eye. The bulrushes rise from a tussock in the water, one tall stalk and a stalk leaning out to each side in a long curve, each ending in a long satin stitch head with a spike, and two long blades and two short ones of satin stitch.

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.

5 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 × 1.4 in	4.6 × 3.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 2.1 in	6.9 × 5.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.6 × 2.8 in	9.1 × 7.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.5 × 3.5 in	11.4 × 8.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.2 × 4.9 in	15.7 × 12.4 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 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.
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 GreenBulrush blades, bulrush stalks, bulrush spikes and tussock
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownBulrush heads, duck outline and eyes
DMC 3755 Baby BlueWater
DMC 922 Light CopperBill and neck band
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawWing

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 strandsBulrush blades, bulrush spikes, bulrush heads, tussock, water, bill, wing, neck band
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsBulrush stalks, duck outline
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsEyes

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.