Christmas bells with a bow and holly hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Christmas bells with a bow and holly: preview of the stitched design

A pair of bells hangs from a bow, with a holly leaf to each side: each bell is outlined in stem stitch and carries a band at its shoulder, a broad band along its lip and three long drops between them, all in satin stitch, with a satin stitch clapper below its mouth. The bow is satin stitch laid across the ribbon, and each holly leaf is satin stitch, one half dark green and the other a lighter green. It can go on a Christmas stocking, a table runner or a card.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 6 inch hoop up.

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)	1.5 × 1.4 in	3.8 × 3.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2.1 in	5.6 × 5.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 2.9 in	7.6 × 7.4 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 3.6 in	9.4 × 9.1 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 5 in	13.2 × 12.7 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) across. Satin stitches longer than about 12 mm (just under 1/2 in) tend to work loose: divide the shape into sections, or work it in long and short stitch.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaRibbons of the bells and knot of the bow
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawClappers, knobs of the bells, outlines of the bells and bands of the bells
DMC 304 Medium RedDrops on the bells and loops of the bow
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenDarker half of each holly leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each holly leaf

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

Satin stitch 2 strandsRibbons of the bells, clappers, knobs of the bells, bands of the bells, drops on the bells, holly leaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), loops of the bow, knot of the bow
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsOutlines of the bells

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.