Forget-me-not coaster hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Forget-me-not coaster: preview of the stitched design

A round design for a coaster shows a posy of six forget-me-nots inside a scalloped edge, one flower in the middle and five round it. Each has five blue petals in satin stitch about a white collar, also satin stitch, with a yellow French knot for its eye. Five light green leaves in fishbone stitch spread from behind the middle flower, one between each pair of outer flowers, and each has a dark green leaf vein in back stitch. Three blue French knots sit between each pair of leaves, near the edge. The scalloped edge is dark green stem stitch.

Size and details

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

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)	1.8 × 1.8 in	4.6 × 4.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 2.7 in	6.9 × 6.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.6 × 3.6 in	9.1 × 9.1 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.4 × 4.4 in	11.2 × 11.2 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.2 × 6.2 in	15.7 × 15.7 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 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLeaves
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenLeaf veins and scalloped edge
DMC 3755 Baby BlueForget-me-not petals and knots between the leaves
DMC B5200 Snow WhiteForget-me-not collars
DMC 726 Light TopazForget-me-not eyes

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
Back stitch 2 strandsLeaf veins
Satin stitch 2 strandsForget-me-not petals, forget-me-not collars
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsForget-me-not eyes, knots between the leaves
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsScalloped edge

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.