Laurel leaf frame hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Laurel leaf frame: preview of the stitched design

A sprig of laurel in dark green stem stitch, clothed with pairs of fishbone stitch leaves in two greens, is carried round all four sides of a small square frame. At every corner two sprigs spring from three gold French knot berries, with one more leaf pointing out along the diagonal, and their leaves lean toward one more berry at the middle of each side. Stitch it as it is round a name or a date, or lengthen every side by whole repeats for a placemat or a tray cloth.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in three colors.

3 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.4 × 1.4 in	3.6 × 3.6 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2 × 2 in	5.1 × 5.1 cm
5 in (13 cm)	2.7 × 2.7 in	6.9 × 6.9 cm
6 in (15 cm)	3.4 × 3.4 in	8.6 × 8.6 cm
8 in (20 cm)	4.8 × 4.8 in	12.2 × 12.2 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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenStems and outer leaves
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenInner leaves
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawBerries

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 strandsStems
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsLeaves
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsBerries

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.