Log cabin quilt block hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 1 kind of stitch

Log cabin quilt block: preview of the stitched design

A log cabin quilt block is built of straight logs laid round a red middle square in four rounds. In each round the logs to the right of the square and below it are light, and the logs to the left and above it are dark, so the block divides along the diagonal from lower left to upper right. The light logs are yellow in the first and third rounds and gold in the second and fourth; the dark logs are blue in the first and third rounds and navy in the second and fourth. The middle square and every log are satin stitch, with narrow gaps of bare cloth between them.

Size and details

Intermediate. Satin stitch over about a third of the cloth in a 6 inch hoop; from a 6 inch hoop up some of the satin stitches are long.

5 colors of floss and 1 kind of stitch:

Satin stitch
Which stitch goes where

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.3 × 1.3 in	3.3 × 3.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2 × 2 in	5.1 × 5.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.7 × 2.7 in	6.9 × 6.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.4 × 3.4 in	8.6 × 8.6 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.7 × 4.7 in	11.9 × 11.9 cm	9/16 in (14 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 9/16 in (14 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 304 Medium RedMiddle square
DMC 726 Light TopazLight logs of the first and third rounds
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawLight logs of the second and fourth rounds
DMC 322 Dark Baby BlueDark logs of the first and third rounds
DMC 336 Navy BlueDark logs of the second and fourth rounds

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

Satin stitch 2 strandsMiddle square, light logs of the first and third rounds, light logs of the second and fourth rounds, dark logs of the first and third rounds, dark logs of the second and fourth rounds

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.