Lotus coaster hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 6 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Lotus coaster: preview of the stitched design

A round design for a coaster shows one lotus seen face on: three rings of eight cupped petals with curved edges that come to a point, each ring a half step round from the last, about a round seed head with nine knots. There are no leaves: the flower sits inside a ring of sixteen French knots and an edge of sixteen scallops in stem stitch; the flower is worked in long and short stitch, satin stitch and French knots.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses long and short stitch; from a 4 inch hoop up the widest satin stitches are long.

6 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)	1.8 × 1.8 in	4.6 × 4.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 2.7 in	6.9 × 6.9 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.6 × 3.6 in	9.1 × 9.1 cm	9/16 in (14 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.5 × 4.5 in	11.4 × 11.4 cm	11/16 in (17 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.3 × 6.3 in	16 × 16 cm	15/16 in (24 mm)

In a 5, 6 or 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) or more 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.
In a 3 or 4 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 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseLotus outer petals
DMC 152 Medium Light Shell PinkLotus middle petals and ring of knots
DMC 3779 Very Light RosewoodLotus inner petals
DMC 726 Light TopazLotus seed head
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawLotus seeds
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenScalloped edge

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

Long and short stitch 1 or 2 strandsLotus outer petals, lotus middle petals
Satin stitch 2 strandsLotus inner petals, lotus seed head
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsLotus seeds, ring of knots
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsScalloped edge

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.