Parachute with a parcel hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 4 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Parachute with a parcel: preview of the stitched design

A parachute brings down a parcel between two clouds. The canopy is seven panels, called gores, under a gold crown, four of them red and three left as bare cloth, above a scalloped navy hem. Four navy cords gather on a gold ring, and the parcel hangs under the ring by two slings; it is outlined in navy and tied with a gold ribbon and bow. Each cloud is two rows of blue chain stitch. The hem, the cords, the slings and the parcel outline are stem stitch; the red gores, the crown, the ring, the ribbon and the bow are satin stitch.

Size and details

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

4 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)	1.8 × 1.6 in	4.6 × 4.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 2.4 in	6.9 × 6.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.6 × 3.1 in	9.1 × 7.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.5 × 3.9 in	11.4 × 9.9 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.4 × 5.5 in	16.3 × 14 cm	9/16 in (14 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 9/16 in (14 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 3755 Baby BlueOutlines of the clouds
DMC 304 Medium RedGores
DMC 336 Navy BlueHem, cords, slings and parcel outline
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawCrown, ribbon, bow tails, bow loops, bow knot and ring

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

Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsOutlines of the clouds
Satin stitch 2 strandsGores, crown, ribbon, bow tails, bow loops, bow knot, ring
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsHem, cords, slings, parcel outline

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.