Mariner’s compass medallion hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Mariner’s compass medallion: preview of the stitched design

The mariner’s compass has sixteen points: four long points to north, south, east and west, four shorter ones between them and eight short gold ones behind, each half dark and half light in satin stitch so that it looks folded down the middle. A satin stitch disc covers the middle, and the compass sits inside two navy rings, an inner ring of stem stitch and an outer ring of chain stitch like a rope, with a French knot between them at every point. The compass repeats evenly all the way round, so it can be stitched a wedge at a time.

Size and details

Intermediate. A great deal of stitching.

5 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	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 2.6 in	6.6 × 6.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.5 × 3.5 in	8.9 × 8.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.4 × 4.4 in	11.2 × 11.2 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.1 × 6.1 in	15.5 × 15.5 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)

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 3852 Very Dark StrawDark halves of the eight short points, middle and knots
DMC 726 Light TopazLight halves of the eight short points
DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaDark halves of the four shorter points
DMC 3755 Baby BlueLight halves of the long and the shorter points
DMC 336 Navy BlueDark halves of the four long points, inner ring and outer ring

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 strandsCompass points, middle
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsInner ring
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots
Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsOuter ring

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.