Leaf stitch laurel wreath hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Leaf stitch laurel wreath: preview of the stitched design

A laurel wreath, open at the top, is a picture to practice leaf stitch on. Two brown stems rise from the foot, one up each side, and each carries eleven green leaves set by turns to the outside and the inside of the stem. Leaf stitch does most of the work: every leaf is a back stitch outline holding veins of leaf stitch, pairs of slanting stitches that meet on the middle line of the leaf. The stems of the wreath and the short stalks of the leaves are stem stitch. Where the stems meet at the foot sits a flower of six gold lazy daisy stitch petals around a brown French knot.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in three colors.

3 colors of floss and 5 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.8 × 1.5 in	4.6 × 3.8 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 2.3 in	6.9 × 5.8 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3.5 × 3.1 in	8.9 × 7.9 cm
6 in (15 cm)	4.4 × 3.8 in	11.2 × 9.7 cm
8 in (20 cm)	6.2 × 5.4 in	15.7 × 13.7 cm

In a 3 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 3781 Dark Mocha BrownStems of the wreath, stalks of the leaves and center of the flower
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenVeins of the leaves and outlines of the leaves
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawFlower at the foot

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 of the wreath, stalks of the leaves
Leaf stitch 2 strandsVeins of the leaves
Back stitch 2 strandsOutlines of the leaves
Lazy daisy stitch 2 strandsFlower at the foot
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsCenter of the flower

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.