Poinsettia and laurel wreath hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 5 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Poinsettia and laurel wreath: preview of the stitched design

A poinsettia sits at the foot of an open laurel wreath: two branches of paired leaves rise from it and leave the top open, with room in the middle for a name, a monogram or a greeting. The poinsettia has seven pointed red bracts (the red leaves that look like petals) in fishbone stitch, smaller rose-pink bracts in satin stitch, and at its middle a cluster of green satin stitch buds, each tipped with a gold French knot. The branches are stem stitch and the leaves are satin stitch, each half slanted to the center vein in a dark and a light green.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading.

5 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 × 1.6 in	4.1 × 4.1 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 2.4 in	6.1 × 6.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.2 × 3.2 in	8.1 × 8.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.9 × 4 in	9.9 × 10.2 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.5 × 5.7 in	14 × 14.5 cm	1/4 in (6 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 and poinsettia buds
DMC 304 Medium RedPoinsettia bracts
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RosePoinsettia small bracts
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawPoinsettia bud tips

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), poinsettia small bracts, poinsettia buds
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsPoinsettia bracts
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsPoinsettia bud tips

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.