Eiffel Tower postage stamp hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Eiffel Tower postage stamp: preview of the stitched design

A tall postage stamp shows the Eiffel Tower. The perforated edge, a row of round bites, and the inner line are rust back stitch, and a strip at the foot holds the value: a figure one and a figure zero in rust satin stitch, with a rust French knot as a dot at each side of the figures. The tower stands on the strip: navy legs crossed by two blue platforms rise to a navy shaft, with blue plinths under the legs and a blue cabin at the top, all in satin stitch. The dome and mast above the cabin are navy back stitch, and a gold four-pointed satin stitch star sits to either side of the top.

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.

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)	0.9 × 1.7 in	2.3 × 4.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	1.4 × 2.6 in	3.6 × 6.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	1.9 × 3.4 in	4.8 × 8.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	2.3 × 4.3 in	5.8 × 10.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	3.3 × 6 in	8.4 × 15.2 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)

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 355 Dark Terra CottaPerforated edge, inner line, figure one, figure zero and dots beside the figures
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawStars
DMC 336 Navy BlueLegs, shaft, and dome and mast
DMC 3755 Baby BluePlatforms, cabin and plinths

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 strandsPerforated edge, inner line, dome and mast
Satin stitch 2 strandsFigure one, figure zero, stars, legs, shaft, platforms, cabin and plinths
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsDots beside the figures

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.