Halved fig hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Halved fig: preview of the stitched design

A fig is cut in half and stands upright, a full drop with a short neck under a green satin stitch stalk. The outline of the fig is purple back stitch, the skin is a band of purple satin stitch along the outline, and inside the skin the flesh is one line of light pink chain stitch. Within that, eighteen dark pink satin stitch seeds stand in a ring, each pointing to the middle. At the center a ring of eight light pink French knots surrounds one more: the seeds in the hollow.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: short satin stitches, no shading; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

4 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)	1.2 × 1.6 in	3 × 4.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	1.8 × 2.4 in	4.6 × 6.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.5 × 3.2 in	6.4 × 8.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.1 × 4.1 in	7.9 × 10.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.3 × 5.7 in	10.9 × 14.5 cm	3/8 in (10 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 320 Medium Pistachio GreenStalk
DMC 208 Very Dark LavenderOutline of the fig and skin
DMC 3779 Very Light RosewoodFlesh and seeds in the hollow
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseSeeds

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 strandsStalk, skin, seeds
Back stitch 2 strandsOutline of the fig
Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsFlesh
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsSeeds in the hollow

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.