Paisley pair hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Paisley pair: preview of the stitched design

Two paisleys are nested head to tail, each with its tail wrapped over the round end of the other and flicked out at the tip. Each has a stem stitch outline, a back stitch line inside it, a row of back stitch scallops round the inside of its round end, a daisy of six lazy daisy stitches round a gold French knot and a row of four gold French knots running up the tail.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in three colors.

3 colors of floss and 4 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.2 × 1.5 in	3 × 3.8 cm
4 in (10 cm)	1.8 × 2.3 in	4.6 × 5.8 cm
5 in (13 cm)	2.4 × 3.1 in	6.1 × 7.9 cm
6 in (15 cm)	3 × 3.9 in	7.6 × 9.9 cm
8 in (20 cm)	4.2 × 5.4 in	10.7 × 13.7 cm

In a 3 inch hoop the French knots are drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for them there, or choose a larger hoop.

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

What you need

DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseLower paisley outline, upper paisley inner line, upper paisley row of petals and upper paisley daisy
DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaLower paisley inner line, lower paisley row of petals, lower paisley daisy and upper paisley outline
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawLower paisley dots and upper paisley dots

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 strandsLower paisley outline, upper paisley outline
Back stitch 2 strandsLower paisley inner line, lower paisley row of petals, upper paisley inner line, upper paisley row of petals
Lazy daisy stitch 2 strandsLower paisley daisy, upper paisley daisy
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsLower paisley dots, upper paisley dots

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.