Flower festoon edging hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Flower festoon edging: preview of the stitched design

A row of flowers, each of eight satin stitch petals round a French knot, is joined by festoons of stem stitch that hang from petal tip to petal tip, with a satin stitch drop hanging from the lowest point of each. Trace it again end to end for a longer hem, towel or tablecloth.

Size and details

Easy. Stem stitch and French knots, with some short satin stitches.

3 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)	2 × 0.5 in	5.1 × 1.3 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	3 × 0.7 in	7.6 × 1.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.9 × 1 in	9.9 × 2.5 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.9 × 1.2 in	12.4 × 3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.9 × 1.7 in	17.5 × 4.3 cm	1/4 in (6 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 320 Medium Pistachio GreenFestoons
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawDrops and flower centers
DMC 3755 Baby BlueFlowers

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 strandsFestoons
Satin stitch 2 strandsDrops, flowers
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsFlower centers

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.