Primrose laurel wreath hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Primrose laurel wreath: preview of the stitched design

An open laurel wreath has a primrose at the foot: two branches, each clothed with pairs of leaves and a single leaf at its tip, curve up either side and leave the wreath open at the top, with room in the middle for a name or a date. The branches are stem stitch and the leaves are satin stitch in a dark and a light green; the primrose has five notched yellow petals in satin stitch, each with a gold satin stitch dart at its base, round an orange French knot. It makes a frame for a monogram on a hoop, a pillow or a keepsake.

Size and details

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

5 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 × 1.7 in	4.3 × 4.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.5 in	6.4 × 6.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.3 × 3.3 in	8.4 × 8.4 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.1 × 4.1 in	10.4 × 10.4 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.8 × 5.8 in	14.7 × 14.7 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 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.
In a 3 inch hoop the French knot is drawn smaller than about 2 mm (a little over 1/16 in). Use one strand of floss for it 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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenBranches 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 center

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 strandsBranches
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 center

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.