Lemon branch edging hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 4 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Lemon branch edging: preview of the stitched design

A rolling branch of brown stem stitch carries a lifted pair of pointed leaves on each crest, each leaf on a short stalk and worked as two satin stitch halves, one in a lighter and one in a darker green, that meet on its center vein. A pair of yellow satin stitch lemons hangs under every trough on stalks that part, six lemons in all, each a full oval that ends in a small tip, and a last leaf finishes each end of the branch. The band is the same on both sides of its middle. Trace it again end to end for a longer hem, towel or tablecloth.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 6 inch hoop up.

4 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.8 × 0.9 in	4.6 × 2.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 1.3 in	7.1 × 3.3 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.7 × 1.8 in	9.4 × 4.6 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.6 × 2.2 in	11.7 × 5.6 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.5 × 3.1 in	16.5 × 7.9 cm	5/8 in (16 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 5/8 in (16 mm) across. Satin stitches longer than about 12 mm (just under 1/2 in) tend to work loose: divide the shape into sections, or work it in long and short stitch.

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 BrownBranch
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenDarker half of each leaf
DMC 726 Light TopazLemons

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 strandsBranch
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), lemons

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.