Hanging lantern with a red bow hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Hanging lantern with a red bow: preview of the stitched design

A lantern with a candle burning in it hangs by its ring from a red bow whose two tails sweep down to either side of it. The lantern is green: a roof in four panels, the two in the middle lighter, over two posts, a round arch and a stepped base. Inside stands a red candle with a gold ring round it, on a dish, and its gold flame has a yellow middle. Everything is satin stitch but the wick, a short line of stem stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. 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 2 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 × 1.7 in	3.6 × 4.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.1 × 2.6 in	5.3 × 6.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.8 × 3.5 in	7.1 × 8.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.5 × 4.4 in	8.9 × 11.2 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.9 × 6.1 in	12.4 × 15.5 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.

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

What you need

DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenRing of the lantern, neck of the lantern, darker panels of the roof, arch of the lantern, posts of the lantern, wick, dish of the candle, eave of the lantern and base of the lantern
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter panels of the roof and plinth of the lantern
DMC 304 Medium RedCandle, tails of the bow, loops of the bow and knot of the bow
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawRing of the candle and flame
DMC 726 Light TopazMiddle of the flame

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 strandsRing of the lantern, neck of the lantern, roof of the lantern, arch of the lantern, posts of the lantern, candle, ring of the candle, flame, middle of the flame, dish of the candle, eave of the lantern, base of the lantern, plinth of the lantern, tails of the bow, loops of the bow, knot of the bow
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsWick

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.