Heart padlock in laurel hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 5 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Heart padlock in laurel: preview of the stitched design

A padlock in the shape of a heart stands between two laurel branches that rise from a ribbon bow under its point and open at the top, where the shackle rises between their tips. The heart, the body of the padlock, is two outlines in stem stitch with a row of French knots between them like a beaded edge, and the shackle (the gold loop at the top), its two collars and the keyhole are satin stitch; 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

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

5 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)	1.6 × 1.8 in	4.1 × 4.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 2.7 in	6.1 × 6.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.2 × 3.6 in	8.1 × 9.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4 × 4.5 in	10.2 × 11.4 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.6 × 6.4 in	14.2 × 16.3 cm	7/16 in (11 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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenStems and darker half of each leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseBow, bow tails, bow knot and body
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawShackle, beads and collars
DMC 336 Navy BlueKeyhole

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, body
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), bow, bow tails, shackle, collars, keyhole
Padded satin stitch 2 strandsBow knot
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsBeads

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.