Neckline with a primrose garland hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 6 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Neckline with a primrose garland: preview of the stitched design

A round neckline has a garland of primroses: the neck edge is one unbroken line of stem stitch that turns at each shoulder and comes back beside itself, and a stem stitch stem follows it with five primroses along it and a pair of satin stitch leaves between each two. Each primrose is five satin stitch petals, each with a gold dart at its base, round a French knot. As printed the curve is smaller than most neck openings: enlarge the printout until it matches the neck edge of a blouse, a child’s dress or a nightgown, or stitch it as it is below the neckline.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading.

6 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)	1.7 × 1 in	4.3 × 2.5 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 1.6 in	6.4 × 4.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 2.1 in	8.4 × 5.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.2 × 2.6 in	10.7 × 6.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.8 × 3.6 in	14.7 × 9.1 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)

In a 3 or 4 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 TurquoiseNeck edge
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenStem and darker half of each leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf
DMC 726 Light TopazPrimrose petals
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawGold darts on the primrose petals
DMC 922 Light CopperPrimrose centers

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 strandsNeck edge, stem
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), primrose petals, gold darts on the primrose petals
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsPrimrose centers

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.