Hibiscus laurel wreath hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Hibiscus laurel wreath: preview of the stitched design

A hibiscus sits at the foot of an open laurel wreath: two branches of paired leaves curve up either side and leave the top open. The hibiscus has five rose-pink petals in long and short stitch, each with a red back stitch vein, round a red satin stitch eye; a yellow stem stitch column stands up from the eye and carries five yellow French knots. The branches are stem stitch and the leaves are satin stitch in a dark and a light green.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses long and short stitch.

5 colors of floss and 5 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 × 1.6 in	4.1 × 4.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.3 × 2.5 in	5.8 × 6.4 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.1 × 3.3 in	7.9 × 8.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.9 × 4.1 in	9.9 × 10.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.5 × 5.7 in	14 × 14.5 cm	5/16 in (8 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 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseHibiscus petals
DMC 304 Medium RedHibiscus veins and hibiscus eye
DMC 726 Light TopazHibiscus column and hibiscus anthers

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, hibiscus column
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), hibiscus eye
Long and short stitch 1 or 2 strandsHibiscus petals
Back stitch 2 strandsHibiscus veins
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsHibiscus anthers

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.