Pisces zodiac sign hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 2 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Pisces zodiac sign: preview of the stitched design

The constellation of Pisces, the Fishes, stands in a ring of stem stitch that carries two small stars, three French knots and, at its foot, the sign’s symbol. Six of its stars are joined by lines of back stitch: three are four-pointed stars in satin stitch (the largest, midway along the left line, is the star Alpherg), and the rest are French knots. The two lines meet at a knot at the foot, and the four-pointed star at the far end of each stands for one of the two fishes.

Size and details

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

2 colors of floss and 4 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.7 × 1.9 in	4.3 × 4.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 2.8 in	6.6 × 7.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.5 × 3.8 in	8.9 × 9.7 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.4 × 4.7 in	11.2 × 11.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.1 × 6.6 in	15.5 × 16.8 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)

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 336 Navy BlueRing, stars on the ring, lines between the stars and sign's symbol
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawKnots on the ring, four-pointed stars and knot stars

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 strandsRing, sign's symbol
Back stitch 2 strandsStars on the ring, lines between the stars
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots on the ring, knot stars
Satin stitch 2 strandsFour-pointed stars

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.