Key on a ribbon hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Key on a ribbon: preview of the stitched design

An old door key with a three-lobed bow (its handle) hangs from a ribbon bow: the ribbon comes straight down from the knot, over the rim of the top lobe and through its opening, and the two long tails of the bow fall to either side of the key. The bow of the key is outlined in stem stitch with a small ring in each lobe; the shaft, the bit and the two bands of the collar are satin stitch with a small satin ball at the tip, and all of the ribbon is satin stitch, its knot padded.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: short satin stitches, no shading, with a little padded satin stitch; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

3 colors of floss and 3 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 × 1.8 in	2.5 × 4.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	1.5 × 2.8 in	3.8 × 7.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2 × 3.7 in	5.1 × 9.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	2.5 × 4.6 in	6.4 × 11.7 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	3.6 × 6.4 in	9.1 × 16.3 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) across. Satin stitches longer than about 12 mm (just under 1/2 in) tend to work loose: divide the shape into sections, or work it in long and short stitch.

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 BlueBow of the key, bit and shaft
DMC 304 Medium RedRibbon bow, ribbon, ribbon tails and ribbon knot
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawCollar and tip

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 strandsBow of the key
Satin stitch 2 strandsRibbon, bit, shaft, collar, tip, ribbon bow, ribbon tails
Padded satin stitch 2 strandsRibbon knot

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.