Acorn filled with flowers hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 5 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Acorn filled with flowers: preview of the stitched design

An acorn with a short stalk is drawn as one thin outline holding flowers, leaves and knots. The cap outline and the nut outline are brown stem stitch, and the stalk is brown satin stitch. In the cap sit three flowers in a row: an orange flower of six petals between two small gold flowers of five petals each. In the nut sits one large rust flower of eight petals, ringed with eight olive green leaves in fishbone stitch that point outward. Every petal is one lazy daisy stitch, and each flower center is a brown French knot.

Size and details

Easy. Line stitches and loops and French knots, with a little satin stitch.

5 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 × 1.5 in	2.5 × 3.8 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	1.4 × 2.2 in	3.6 × 5.6 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	1.9 × 2.9 in	4.8 × 7.4 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	2.4 × 3.6 in	6.1 × 9.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	3.4 × 5.1 in	8.6 × 13 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)

In a 3 or 4 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 730 Very Dark Olive GreenLeaves
DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaLarge flower petals
DMC 922 Light CopperPetals of the orange flower
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawSmall flower petals
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownLarge flower center, center of the orange flower, small flower centers, cap outline, nut outline and stalk

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

Fishbone stitch 2 strandsLeaves
Lazy daisy stitch 2 strandsLarge flower petals, petals of the orange flower, small flower petals
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsLarge flower center, center of the orange flower, small flower centers
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsCap outline, nut outline
Satin stitch 2 strandsStalk

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.