Rainbow with stars hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 5 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Rainbow with stars: preview of the stitched design

A rainbow of four bands sits under an arch of five stars. Each band is one unbroken line of chain stitch that turns at the foot and comes back beside itself, in pink, orange, teal and purple, and the five-pointed stars are gold satin stitch. There are only two stitches to learn.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: chain stitch, with some short satin stitches; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

5 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.6 × 1 in	4.1 × 2.5 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.4 × 1.5 in	6.1 × 3.8 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.2 × 2.1 in	8.1 × 5.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.1 × 2.6 in	10.4 × 6.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.7 × 3.6 in	14.5 × 9.1 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)

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 RoseOuter band
DMC 922 Light CopperSecond band
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseThird band
DMC 208 Very Dark LavenderInner band
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawStars

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

Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsBands
Satin stitch 2 strandsStars

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.