Ringed trinity knot hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 2 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Ringed trinity knot: preview of the stitched design

A Celtic trinity knot is made of one endless band drawn in three pointed loops with a ring threaded through them; the band passes over and under itself in turn at the middle, and the ring passes over one side of each loop and under the other. Both edges of the band are stem stitch in teal and both edges of the ring are stem stitch in gold, so that each can be followed by eye, with a gold French knot at the heart of the knot and one in the tip of each loop.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in two colors.

2 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch, all of them line stitches and knots:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 1.4 in	3.8 × 3.6 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2.1 in	5.6 × 5.3 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 2.8 in	7.6 × 7.1 cm
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 3.5 in	9.4 × 8.9 cm
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 4.9 in	13.2 × 12.4 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 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseEdges of the knotted band
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawEdges of the ring, and knots at the heart and in the loops

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 strandsEdges of the knotted band, edges of the ring
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots at the heart and in the loops

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.