July birth flower, water lily hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 6 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

July birth flower, water lily: preview of the stitched design

The name JULY stands in block capitals between two sprays of leaves, one arching over it and one cupping it from below, each with a water lily, a birth flower of July, at its middle. Each water lily is two rounds of eight pointed petals, the outer in long and short stitch and the inner in satin stitch, round a satin stitch center with a French knot, and it sits on a round leaf worked in long and short stitch, its upper petals reaching past the rim and the notch of the leaf opening at the foot; the letters are satin stitch across each stroke, and the leaves are satin stitch on stem stitch branches.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses 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)	1.9 × 1.8 in	4.8 × 4.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.7 in	7.1 × 6.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.8 × 3.6 in	9.7 × 9.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.7 × 4.5 in	11.9 × 11.4 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.6 × 6.3 in	16.8 × 16 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)

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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenBranches and darker half of each leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf and round leaf under each water lily
DMC 3779 Very Light RosewoodWater lily outer petals
DMC B5200 Snow WhiteWater lily inner petals
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawWater lily centers and the knot at each
DMC 336 Navy BlueLetters

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 strandsBranches
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), water lily inner petals, water lily centers, letters
Long and short stitch 1 or 2 strandsRound leaf under each water lily, water lily outer petals
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnot at each water lily center

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.