Heart garland edging hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Heart garland edging: preview of the stitched design

Five satin stitch hearts, three large red ones and two small pink ones by turns, are strung shoulder to shoulder on a cord of garnet stem stitch that sags a little between them. Beyond the last heart at each end the cord dips and lifts into a full curl. The band is the same on both sides of its middle. Trace it again end to end for a longer hem, towel or tablecloth.

Size and details

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

3 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)	1.7 × 0.3 in	4.3 × 0.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 0.4 in	6.6 × 1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 0.6 in	8.6 × 1.5 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.3 × 0.7 in	10.9 × 1.8 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6 × 1 in	15.2 × 2.5 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 815 Medium GarnetCord
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseSmall hearts
DMC 304 Medium RedLarge hearts

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 strandsCord
Satin stitch 2 strandsSmall hearts, large hearts

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.