Quilted birthday cake hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Quilted birthday cake: preview of the stitched design

A quilted birthday cake sits on a cake stand, seen from the front, with three candles, each outlined in stem stitch with three bands of satin stitch and a satin stitch flame, and each standing over a column of French knots. The whole side is quilted in diamonds of back stitch between two piped rows of chain stitch, with fourteen French knots where the lines cross, and the cake is outlined in stem stitch.

Size and details

Easy. Line stitches, chain stitch and French knots, with some short satin stitches.

4 colors of floss and 5 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 1.5 in	3.8 × 3.8 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 2.3 in	5.6 × 5.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 3.1 in	7.6 × 7.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 3.8 in	9.4 × 9.7 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 5.4 in	13.2 × 13.7 cm	5/16 in (8 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 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseOutlines of the candles, bands of the candles and piped rows
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawFlames and pearls
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseCake outline and quilted lines
DMC 414 Dark Steel GrayStand outline

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 strandsOutlines of the candles, cake outline, stand outline
Satin stitch 2 strandsBands of the candles, flames
Back stitch 2 strandsQuilted lines
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsPearls
Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsPiped rows

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.