Laurel bow wreath hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Laurel bow wreath: preview of the stitched design

A wreath of laurel is tied with a ribbon bow: two branches rise from the bow, clothed with pairs of pointed laurel leaves, each in two halves on its center vein. The leaves grow a little smaller toward the tips, and the top is left open. The branches are stem stitch and the leaves are satin stitch in a dark and a light green. The rose bow has satin stitch loops and tails, and its knot is padded satin stitch.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading, with a little padded satin stitch.

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)	1.7 × 1.7 in	4.3 × 4.3 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.5 in	6.4 × 6.4 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 3.4 in	8.4 × 8.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.1 × 4.2 in	10.4 × 10.7 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.8 × 5.9 in	14.7 × 15 cm	1/4 in (6 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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenBranches and darker half of each laurel leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each laurel leaf
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseBow, bow tails and bow knot

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 strandsLaurel leaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), bow, bow tails
Padded satin stitch 2 strandsBow 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.