Heart pincushion with pins hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 5 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Heart pincushion with pins: preview of the stitched design

A heart pincushion has a scalloped frill and six pins in a fan: the heart and its frill are outlined in stem stitch, the pins are lines of stem stitch that rise from behind the heart, three to each side, and each pin head is a ball of satin stitch. On the heart is a daisy with petals of satin stitch round a satin stitch center, between four leaves in fishbone stitch. It can go on a needle book or the lid of a sewing box.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: stem stitch and fishbone stitch, with some short satin stitches; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

5 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	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 2.4 in	6.1 × 6.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.2 × 3.2 in	8.1 × 8.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.9 × 3.9 in	9.9 × 9.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.5 × 5.5 in	14 × 14 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 414 Dark Steel GrayPins
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawPin heads and daisy center
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseOutline of the frill of the pincushion and daisy petals
DMC 304 Medium RedHeart pincushion outline
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLeaves

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 strandsPins, outline of the frill of the pincushion, heart pincushion outline
Satin stitch 2 strandsPin heads, daisy petals, daisy center
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsLeaves

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.