Harlequin diamond medallion hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Harlequin diamond medallion: preview of the stitched design

A round medallion is built of diamonds that fit point to point round a small purple boss. The inner ring has twelve gold diamonds, the middle ring twelve green diamonds, and the outer ring twelve purple diamonds; each purple diamond is in two halves that meet down its middle. A purple ring of chain stitch runs round the diamonds, and outside it a ring of thirty-six gold beads sits on a purple thread. The diamonds, the boss and the beads are satin stitch; the thread of the beads is stem stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Satin stitch over about a quarter of the cloth in a 6 inch hoop; from a 6 inch hoop up some of the satin stitches are long.

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)	1.7 × 1.7 in	4.3 × 4.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 2.6 in	6.6 × 6.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 3.4 in	8.6 × 8.6 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.3 × 4.3 in	10.9 × 10.9 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6 × 6 in	15.2 × 15.2 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 3852 Very Dark StrawInner ring of diamonds and ring of beads
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenMiddle ring of diamonds
DMC 208 Very Dark LavenderOuter ring of diamonds, boss, chain stitch ring and thread of the beads

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 strandsInner ring of diamonds, middle ring of diamonds, outer ring of diamonds, boss, ring of beads
Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsChain stitch ring
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsThread of the beads

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.