February birth flower, violet hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 6 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

February birth flower, violet: preview of the stitched design

The name FEBRUARY stands in block capitals between two sprays of leaves, one arching over it and one cupping it from below, each with a violet, a birth flower of February, at its middle. Each violet has five petals in long and short stitch, three veins in straight stitch on the lower petal and a French knot for its eye; the letters are satin stitch across each stroke, and the leaves are satin stitch on stem stitch branches.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses long and short stitch.

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)	1.9 × 1.7 in	4.8 × 4.3 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.6 in	7.1 × 6.6 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.8 × 3.5 in	9.7 × 8.9 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.7 × 4.4 in	11.9 × 11.2 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.6 × 6.1 in	16.8 × 15.5 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)

In a 3 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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenBranches and darker half of each leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf
DMC 208 Very Dark LavenderViolet upper petals and violet side petals
DMC 210 Medium LavenderLower petal of each violet
DMC 336 Navy BlueViolet veins and letters
DMC 726 Light TopazViolet eyes

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

Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsBranches
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), letters
Long and short stitch 1 or 2 strandsViolet upper petals, violet side petals, lower petal of each violet
Straight stitch 2 strandsViolet veins
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsViolet eyes

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.