Leafy vine edging hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Leafy vine edging: preview of the stitched design

A wavy vine of stem stitch carries a fishbone stitch leaf on the outside of every bend, up and down by turns, a French knot berry on a short stalk inside each of the five middle bends, and a last leaf at each tip. Trace it again end to end for a longer hem, towel or tablecloth.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in three colors.

3 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	2 × 0.6 in	5.1 × 1.5 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.9 × 0.8 in	7.4 × 2 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3.9 × 1.1 in	9.9 × 2.8 cm
6 in (15 cm)	4.9 × 1.4 in	12.4 × 3.6 cm
8 in (20 cm)	6.9 × 2 in	17.5 × 5.1 cm

In a 3 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 GreenVine and lower leaves
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenUpper leaves
DMC 304 Medium RedBerries

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 strandsVine
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsLeaves
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsBerries

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.