Herringbone stitch ring hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Herringbone stitch ring: preview of the stitched design

A broad ring is made of two bands of herringbone stitch, the stitch that does most of the work. The outer band is navy and the inner band red, and each lies between two of three gold stem stitch circles, so the middle circle is shared by both bands. Every herringbone stitch runs slanting from one circle to the next and crosses its neighbors, close to the outer edge of its band and close to the inner edge by turns. The open middle takes a name or an initial.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in three colors.

3 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 1.5 in	3.8 × 3.8 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2.2 in	5.6 × 5.6 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 3 in	7.6 × 7.6 cm
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 3.7 in	9.4 × 9.4 cm
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 5.2 in	13.2 × 13.2 cm

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 336 Navy BlueOuter band of herringbone
DMC 304 Medium RedInner band of herringbone
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawThree circles

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

Herringbone stitch 2 strandsOuter band of herringbone, inner band of herringbone
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsThree circles

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.