Nested rainbow star hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 5 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Nested rainbow star: preview of the stitched design

A rainbow star is made of four five-point stars one inside another, each a line of chain stitch in its own color: red on the outside, then orange, yellow and green. In the middle is a solid blue star made of five diamonds of satin stitch that meet at its heart.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: chain stitch, with some short satin stitches; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

5 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)	1.6 × 1.5 in	4.1 × 3.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 2.3 in	6.1 × 5.8 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.2 × 3.1 in	8.1 × 7.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.1 × 3.9 in	10.4 × 9.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.7 × 5.4 in	14.5 × 13.7 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)

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 RedOuter star
DMC 922 Light CopperSecond star from the outside
DMC 726 Light TopazThird star from the outside
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenFourth star from the outside
DMC 3755 Baby BlueSolid star in the middle

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

Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsFour outline stars
Satin stitch 2 strandsSolid star in the middle

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.