Hard hat and hammers hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 6 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Hard hat and hammers: preview of the stitched design

A hard hat stands in front of two crossed claw hammers, over a cradle of laurel tied with a ribbon bow. The dome of the hat is four gores, wedge-shaped panels, of satin stitch with bare cloth between them, inside an outline of stem stitch. Its ridge and its brim are satin stitch, and so are the handles and heads of the hammers; the laurel leaves are satin stitch on stems of stem stitch, and the ribbon bow is satin stitch with a padded knot.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 6 inch hoop up.

6 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)	1.6 × 1.6 in	4.1 × 4.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.4 in	6.4 × 6.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 3.2 in	8.4 × 8.1 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.1 × 4 in	10.4 × 10.2 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.7 × 5.6 in	14.5 × 14.2 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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenStems and darker half of each leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawBow, bow tails, bow knot, outline of the dome, ridge of the hat and brim of the hat
DMC 3828 Hazelnut BrownHammer handles
DMC 414 Dark Steel GrayHammer heads
DMC 726 Light TopazGores of the dome

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

Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsStems, outline of the dome
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), bow, bow tails, hammer handles, hammer heads, gores of the dome, ridge of the hat, brim of the hat
Padded satin stitch 2 strandsBow knot

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.