Ladybug in laurel wreath hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 8 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Ladybug in laurel wreath: preview of the stitched design

A ladybug sits in a laurel wreath: two branches rise from a daisy at the foot, each with ten pairs of satin stitch leaves that grow smaller toward the top and one end leaf. The daisy is satin stitch petals round a satin stitch center with a French knot in it. The ladybug is one round dome, its two wing cases worked solid in long and short stitch with three satin stitch spots in each; the head and the shield behind it are satin stitch, with two pale marks on the shield, and the six legs and the feelers are stem stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses long and short stitch and eight colors.

8 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)	1.6 × 1.7 in	4.1 × 4.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.5 in	6.4 × 6.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 3.3 in	8.4 × 8.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.1 × 4.2 in	10.4 × 10.7 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.7 × 5.8 in	14.5 × 14.7 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)

In a 3 or 4 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
DMC B5200 Snow WhiteDaisy petals
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawDaisy center
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownDaisy center knot
DMC 336 Navy BlueFeelers, tips of the feelers, legs, head, shield and spots
DMC 543 Ultra Very Light BeigePale marks of the shield
DMC 304 Medium RedWing cases

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, feelers, legs
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), daisy petals, daisy center, head, shield, pale marks of the shield, spots
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsDaisy center knot, tips of the feelers
Long and short stitch 1 or 2 strandsWing cases

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.