Olive branch corner hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Olive branch corner: preview of the stitched design

An olive branch of stem stitch turns the corner in a round elbow and runs along the two sides, clothed with pairs of slim satin stitch leaves that lean toward each tip, every leaf in two halves that meet on its center vein, and each arm ends in a single leaf. A pair of satin stitch olives hangs on curved stalks from the elbow, out along the diagonal. It is made for the corner of a napkin, a handkerchief or a tablecloth.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: short satin stitches, no shading; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

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)	3.4 × 3.4 in	8.6 × 8.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.8 × 4.8 in	12.2 × 12.2 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 3781 Dark Mocha BrownBranch
DMC 989 Forest GreenLighter half of each leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenDarker half of each leaf
DMC 208 Very Dark LavenderOlives

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 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), olives

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.