Four candy cane hearts hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Four candy cane hearts: preview of the stitched design

Eight candy canes are set in pairs to make four hearts that point in at a ring in the middle, one heart at the top, one at the foot and one at each side. Each cane is outlined in red stem stitch and crossed by red satin stitch stripes, with bare cloth between the stripes. Between each two hearts sit a red satin stitch berry and a satin stitch leaf, one half of the leaf light green and the other dark green. The ring in the middle is stem stitch and holds a flower of eight red satin stitch petals around a gold French knot.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading.

4 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)	1.8 × 1.8 in	4.6 × 4.6 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 2.6 in	6.6 × 6.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.5 × 3.5 in	8.9 × 8.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.4 × 4.4 in	11.2 × 11.2 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.2 × 6.2 in	15.7 × 15.7 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)

In a 3 inch hoop the French knot is drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for it 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 304 Medium RedRed stripes, candy canes, berries, ring in the middle and flower in the middle
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenDarker half of each leaf
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawCenter of the flower

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

Satin stitch 2 strandsRed stripes, leaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), berries, flower in the middle
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsCandy canes, ring in the middle
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsCenter of the flower

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.