Islamic star and cross tile hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Islamic star and cross tile: preview of the stitched design

Four eight-pointed stars are set corner to corner round a pointed cross, the star and cross tessellation of Islamic tile work, with the lines drawn as bands that pass over and under each other where the points of the stars meet. The bands are back stitch in navy and teal, the flowers in the stars, the petals in the cross and the buds between the stars are lazy daisy stitches, the small square in the middle is back stitch and the dots are French knots.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in three colors.

3 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.6 × 1.6 in	4.1 × 4.1 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 2.4 in	6.1 × 6.1 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3.2 × 3.2 in	8.1 × 8.1 cm
6 in (15 cm)	4 × 4 in	10.2 × 10.2 cm
8 in (20 cm)	5.6 × 5.6 in	14.2 × 14.2 cm

In a 3 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 336 Navy BlueDarker bands, square in the cross and dots over the buds
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseLighter bands and flower petals in the stars
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawFlower middles, petals in the cross, dot in the cross and buds between the stars

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

Back stitch 2 strandsDarker bands, lighter bands, square in the cross
Lazy daisy stitch 2 strandsFlower petals in the stars, petals in the cross, buds between the stars
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsFlower middles, dot in the cross, dots over the buds

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.