Hydrangea oval frame hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 6 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Hydrangea oval frame: preview of the stitched design

A full hydrangea head sits at the foot of an upright oval frame of two branches of paired leaves, which leave the top open. The head is navy long and short stitch, and on it lie seven four-petalled florets in lilac and sky blue satin stitch, each with a yellow French knot, with navy satin stitch florets showing behind them. Two large leaves spread from under the head; they and the leaves of the frame are satin stitch in a dark and a light green, and the stems are stem stitch.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, with a little long and short stitch.

6 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)	1.4 × 1.8 in	3.6 × 4.6 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2 × 2.7 in	5.1 × 6.9 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.7 × 3.6 in	6.9 × 9.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.4 × 4.4 in	8.6 × 11.2 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.8 × 6.2 in	12.2 × 15.7 cm	5/16 in (8 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, darker half of each leaf and darker half of each hydrangea leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf and lighter half of each hydrangea leaf
DMC 336 Navy BlueHydrangea head and hydrangea back florets
DMC 3755 Baby BlueBlue hydrangea florets
DMC 210 Medium LavenderLilac hydrangea florets
DMC 726 Light TopazKnots of the hydrangea florets

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
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), hydrangea leaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), hydrangea back florets, hydrangea florets
Long and short stitch 1 or 2 strandsHydrangea head
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots of the hydrangea florets

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.