Pine cones on a branch hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 2 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Pine cones on a branch: preview of the stitched design

Two pinecones, one large and one small, hang at a slant under a pine branch that carries seven fans of long needles, and each cone is built of pointed scales that overlap like roof tiles toward its tip. The branch, the needles and the scales are outlined in stem stitch, and the thick lip of each scale and the marks on the bark are back stitch.

Size and details

Easy. Line stitches only, but a good deal of line to work.

2 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch, all of them line stitches:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.8 × 1.5 in	4.6 × 3.8 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.3 in	7.1 × 5.8 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3.7 × 3 in	9.4 × 7.6 cm
6 in (15 cm)	4.6 × 3.8 in	11.7 × 9.7 cm
8 in (20 cm)	6.4 × 5.3 in	16.3 × 13.5 cm

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

What you need

DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenPine needles
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownBranch and stalks, bark, cone scales, and lips of the scales

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 strandsPine needles, branch and stalks, cone scales
Back stitch 2 strandsBark, lips of the scales

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.