Greek key corner hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Greek key corner: preview of the stitched design

A Greek key in navy back stitch runs between two ruled lines of gold stem stitch and turns through a corner. The key is one line that rises, turns in on itself and comes out again, four whole keys on each side. The corner is a square block with a red satin stitch square at its middle, a short plain run of line parts it from the first key of each side, and a bar closes the two ruled lines just beyond the last key. The two arms are mirror images of each other, for the corner of a napkin, a handkerchief or a cloth.

Size and details

Easy. Back stitch and stem stitch, with a little satin stitch.

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)	1.4 × 1.4 in	3.6 × 3.6 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.1 × 2.1 in	5.3 × 5.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.8 × 2.8 in	7.1 × 7.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.5 × 3.5 in	8.9 × 8.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.8 × 4.8 in	12.2 × 12.2 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)

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

What you need

DMC 336 Navy BlueKey
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawRuled lines
DMC 304 Medium RedSquare in the corner

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

Back stitch 2 strandsKey
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsRuled lines
Satin stitch 2 strandsSquare in the corner

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.