Oak leaf and acorn corner hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Oak leaf and acorn corner: preview of the stitched design

A branch of oak in brown stem stitch turns the corner in a round elbow and runs along the two sides, with two pairs of large oak leaves on short stalks and a single leaf at the tip of each side. 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 on curved stalks from the elbow, out along the diagonal. The two arms are mirror images of each other, for the corner of a napkin, a handkerchief or a cloth.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading.

4 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)	1.4 × 1.4 in	3.6 × 3.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.1 × 2.1 in	5.3 × 5.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.8 × 2.8 in	7.1 × 7.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.5 × 3.5 in	8.9 × 8.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.9 × 4.9 in	12.4 × 12.4 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 3781 Dark Mocha BrownBranch and acorn cups
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawGold half of each oak leaf
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

Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsBranch
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.