Ivy vine edging hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Ivy vine edging: preview of the stitched design

A rolling stem of brown stem stitch grows both ways from an upright middle leaf, with an ivy leaf on a short stalk on the outside of every bend, up and down by turns, nine leaves in all. Each leaf has broad shoulders and five points and is worked as two satin stitch halves, one in a lighter and one in a darker green, that meet on its center vein; the leaves grow a little smaller toward each end. The band is the same on both sides of its middle. Trace it again end to end for a longer hem, towel or tablecloth.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading.

3 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.8 × 0.7 in	4.6 × 1.8 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 1 in	6.9 × 2.5 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.6 × 1.3 in	9.1 × 3.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.5 × 1.7 in	11.4 × 4.3 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.3 × 2.3 in	16 × 5.8 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)

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

What you need

DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownStem
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each ivy leaf
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenDarker half of each ivy leaf

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 strandsStem
Satin stitch 2 strandsIvy leaves

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.