Fleur-de-lis in laurel hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Fleur-de-lis in laurel: preview of the stitched design

The fleur-de-lis has a tall pointed middle petal, a side petal arching over and curling under on each side, a band across the waist and three short ends below it. It stands in the middle of an open laurel wreath: two branches of leaf pairs that rise from a ribbon bow at the foot. It is worked in stem stitch, satin stitch, padded satin stitch, back stitch and French knots.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading, with a little padded satin stitch.

4 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)	1.7 × 1.8 in	4.3 × 4.6 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 2.7 in	6.6 × 6.9 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 3.6 in	8.6 × 9.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.3 × 4.5 in	10.9 × 11.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6 × 6.2 in	15.2 × 15.7 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)

In a 3, 4 or 5 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 3852 Very Dark StrawBow, bow tails, bow knot, band, veins and dots in the curls
DMC 336 Navy BlueMiddle petal, side petals and lower ends

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, middle petal, side petals, lower ends
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), bow, bow tails, band
Padded satin stitch 2 strandsBow knot
Back stitch 2 strandsVeins
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsDots in the curls

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.