Star tile with quarter rings hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Star tile with quarter rings: preview of the stitched design

A square tile holds a star of four points inside a double border. The border of the tile is two navy lines of stem stitch. A teal quarter ring sweeps about each corner, and an orange corner petal lies between each quarter ring and its corner. The star fills the center with its points toward the top, the foot and the two sides; each point is parted down its length into a dark half in gold and a light half in yellow. The quarter rings, the corner petals and both halves of the star are satin stitch, and a navy French knot marks the center of the star.

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)	1.4 × 1.4 in	3.6 × 3.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2 × 2 in	5.1 × 5.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.7 × 2.7 in	6.9 × 6.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.4 × 3.4 in	8.6 × 8.6 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.7 × 4.7 in	11.9 × 11.9 cm	5/8 in (16 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 5/8 in (16 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 336 Navy BlueBorder of the tile and center of the star
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseQuarter rings
DMC 922 Light CopperCorner petals
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawDark halves of the star
DMC 726 Light TopazLight halves of the star

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 strandsBorder of the tile
Satin stitch 2 strandsQuarter rings, corner petals, dark halves of the star, light halves of the star
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsCenter of the star

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.