Firefighter’s helmet and axes hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 6 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Firefighter’s helmet and axes: preview of the stitched design

A fire helmet stands in front of two axes crossed behind it, over a cradle of laurel tied with a ribbon bow. The dome of the helmet is four gores, wedge-shaped panels, of satin stitch with bare cloth between them, inside an outline of stem stitch, its brim, its knob and the shield on its front are satin stitch, and the handles and heads of the axes are satin stitch; the laurel leaves are satin stitch on stems of stem stitch, and the ribbon bow is satin stitch with a padded knot.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 5 inch hoop up.

6 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)	1.7 × 1.6 in	4.3 × 4.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.4 in	6.4 × 6.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 3.2 in	8.4 × 8.1 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.2 × 4 in	10.7 × 10.2 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.8 × 5.6 in	14.7 × 14.2 cm	5/8 in (16 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 5/8 in (16 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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenStems and darker half of each leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf
DMC 304 Medium RedBow, bow tails, bow knot, dome of the helmet, outline of the dome of the helmet and brim of the helmet
DMC 3828 Hazelnut BrownAxe handles
DMC 414 Dark Steel GrayAxe heads
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawShield of the helmet and knob of the helmet

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 strandsStems, outline of the dome of the helmet
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), bow, bow tails, axe handles, axe heads, dome of the helmet, shield of the helmet, knob of the helmet, brim of the helmet
Padded satin stitch 2 strandsBow knot

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.