Gerbera laurel wreath hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 6 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Gerbera laurel wreath: preview of the stitched design

A gerbera sits at the foot of an open laurel wreath: two branches of paired leaves curve up either side and leave the top open. The gerbera has sixteen rose-pink satin stitch rays round a pale pink satin stitch ring (the small inner florets) and a brown satin stitch eye with a gold French knot. The branches are stem stitch and the leaves are satin stitch in a dark and a lighter green.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 5 inch hoop up.

6 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)	1.6 × 1.7 in	4.1 × 4.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 2.5 in	6.1 × 6.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.2 × 3.3 in	8.1 × 8.4 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4 × 4.1 in	10.2 × 10.4 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.6 × 5.8 in	14.2 × 14.7 cm	5/8 in (16 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 5/8 in (16 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.
In a 3 or 4 inch hoop the French knot is drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for it 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 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseGerbera rays
DMC 152 Medium Light Shell PinkGerbera ring of florets
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownGerbera eye
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawKnot on the gerbera eye

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 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), gerbera rays, gerbera ring of florets, gerbera eye
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnot on the gerbera eye

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.