Grandmother’s flower garden in a wreath hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Grandmother’s flower garden in a wreath: preview of the stitched design

One flower from a grandmother’s flower garden quilt sits inside a round wreath. The middle of the flower is a gold disc in woven wheel stitch. Six dark pink inner petals, each a hexagon, lie round the middle, twelve light pink outer petals round them, and a path of eighteen light green hexagons round the flower; every hexagon is satin stitch, with a narrow gap of bare cloth between it and the next. The ring of the wreath is green stem stitch and carries six dark pink roses in woven wheel stitch, evenly spaced. Between the roses the ring bears leaves in fishbone stitch, green on its outer side and light green on its inner side.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses woven wheels and satin stitch over about a fifth of the cloth in a 6 inch hoop; from a 6 inch hoop up some of the satin stitches are long.

5 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)	1.9 × 1.9 in	4.8 × 4.8 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.9 × 2.9 in	7.4 × 7.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.8 × 3.8 in	9.7 × 9.7 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.8 × 4.8 in	12.2 × 12.2 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.7 × 6.7 in	17 × 17 cm	9/16 in (14 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 9/16 in (14 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.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseSix inner petals and roses on the wreath
DMC 3779 Very Light RosewoodTwelve outer petals
DMC 989 Forest GreenPath round the flower and inner leaves of the wreath
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawMiddle of the flower
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenRing of the wreath and outer leaves of the wreath

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 strandsSix inner petals, twelve outer petals, path round the flower
Woven wheel stitch 2 strandsMiddle of the flower, roses on the wreath
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsRing of the wreath
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsOuter leaves of the wreath, inner leaves of the wreath

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.