Leaf wreath hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Leaf wreath: preview of the stitched design

Two leafy branches rise from a small ribbon bow and curve round toward each other, leaving the ring open at the top, with a pair of leaves at every joint, the larger pointing out of the ring and the smaller pointing in. The branches are stem stitch, every leaf is fishbone stitch, the outer leaves in a dark green and the inner in a light green, and the bow is outlined in stem stitch with a satin stitch knot.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: stem stitch, fishbone stitch and straight stitch, with a little satin stitch; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

4 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)	1.7 × 1.8 in	4.3 × 4.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.7 in	6.4 × 6.9 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 3.7 in	8.6 × 9.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.2 × 4.6 in	10.7 × 11.7 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.9 × 6.4 in	15 × 16.3 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)

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
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenOuter leaves
DMC 989 Forest GreenInner leaves
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseBow loops and ribbon ends, folds in the bow, and knot of the bow

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, bow loops and ribbon ends
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsOuter leaves, inner leaves
Straight stitch 2 strandsFolds in the bow
Satin stitch 2 strandsKnot of the bow

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.