Faceted star of Bethlehem hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 1 kind of stitch

Faceted star of Bethlehem: preview of the stitched design

The star of Bethlehem has eight points, four long and four short, and its lowest point is the longest. Every point is two facets of satin stitch that meet along its middle line, the stitches slanting toward its tip from either side, and a small round heart of satin stitch lies where the sixteen facets meet.

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.

3 colors of floss and 1 kind of stitch:

Satin stitch
Which stitch goes where

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.3 × 1.7 in	3.3 × 4.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2 × 2.5 in	5.1 × 6.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.7 × 3.3 in	6.9 × 8.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.3 × 4.2 in	8.4 × 10.7 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.7 × 5.8 in	11.9 × 14.7 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)

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 StrawLong points of the star
DMC 726 Light TopazShort points of the star
DMC B5200 Snow WhiteHeart of the star

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 strandsLong points of the star, short points of the star, heart of the star

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.