Fleur-de-lis hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 2 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Fleur-de-lis: preview of the stitched design

A 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. The petals are stem stitch outlines with a back stitch line inside each, the band is satin stitch and a French knot sits inside each curl.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 6 inch hoop up.

2 colors of floss and 4 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 × 1.9 in	4.3 × 4.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.9 in	6.4 × 7.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 3.8 in	8.6 × 9.7 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.2 × 4.8 in	10.7 × 12.2 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.9 × 6.7 in	15 × 17 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 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.
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 336 Navy BlueMiddle petal, side petals and lower ends
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawBand, veins and dots in the curls

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 strandsMiddle petal, side petals, lower ends
Satin stitch 2 strandsBand
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.