Cupcake with one candle hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 5 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Cupcake with one candle: preview of the stitched design

A cupcake with one candle is seen from the front. The candle stands at the top, outlined in purple stem stitch with purple satin stitch stripes, and above it are a purple stem stitch wick and a gold satin stitch flame. The icing outline is pink stem stitch: the icing lies over the cake and runs down in three drips, the longest in the middle, with half a drip at each side. The cake under the icing is a line of tan stem stitch. The paper case outline is teal stem stitch with a fluted rim, and the pleats of the case are teal back stitch.

Size and details

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

5 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)	1.1 × 1.8 in	2.8 × 4.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	1.6 × 2.7 in	4.1 × 6.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.1 × 3.5 in	5.3 × 8.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	2.7 × 4.4 in	6.9 × 11.2 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	3.7 × 6.2 in	9.4 × 15.7 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 208 Very Dark LavenderCandle outline, stripes of the candle and wick
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawFlame
DMC 3828 Hazelnut BrownCake
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseIcing outline
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoisePaper case outline and pleats of the case

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 strandsCandle outline, wick, cake, icing outline, paper case outline
Satin stitch 2 strandsStripes of the candle, flame
Back stitch 2 strandsPleats of the case

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.