Oak leaf and acorn bookmark hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Oak leaf and acorn bookmark: preview of the stitched design

A sprig of oak runs up the middle of a bookmark bordered in gold running stitch. A straight stem of brown stem stitch carries two pairs of large oak leaves on short stalks that open wide and lean toward its tip, and one upright leaf at the tip; every leaf has three round lobes a side and is worked as two satin stitch halves, one gold and one orange, that meet on its center vein. A pair of tan satin stitch acorns in brown cups hangs at the foot on curved stalks that part. Stitch it on a strip of linen or felt and back it with felt.

Size and details

Easy. Running stitch and stem stitch, with some short satin stitches.

4 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	0.8 × 1.7 in	2 × 4.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	1.2 × 2.6 in	3 × 6.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	1.7 × 3.4 in	4.3 × 8.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	2.1 × 4.3 in	5.3 × 10.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	2.9 × 6 in	7.4 × 15.2 cm	5/16 in (8 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 3852 Very Dark StrawBorder and gold half of each oak leaf
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownStem and acorn cups
DMC 922 Light CopperOrange half of each oak leaf
DMC 3828 Hazelnut BrownAcorns

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

Running stitch 3 strandsBorder
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsStem
Satin stitch 2 strandsOak leaves, acorns, acorn cups

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.