Redwork present with a bow hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 1 color · 2 kinds of stitch

Redwork present with a bow: preview of the stitched design

This is a redwork present seen from the front. The paper of the box carries three rows of swags, three on each side of the ribbon in every row. A deep lid, wider than the box, sits on it, and the ribbon runs down the middle of both. The bow sits at the top of the lid: a round knot, two loops with a crease in each, and two tails that fall across the lid. The bow with its knot and tails, the lid, the box and the ribbon are stem stitch; the creases of the bow and the swags of the paper are back stitch. It is all one red thread, with no filled shapes.

Size and details

Easy. Line stitches only, but a good deal of line to work.

1 color of floss and 2 kinds of stitch, all of them line stitches:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.4 × 1.6 in	3.6 × 4.1 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2 × 2.4 in	5.1 × 6.1 cm
5 in (13 cm)	2.7 × 3.1 in	6.9 × 7.9 cm
6 in (15 cm)	3.4 × 3.9 in	8.6 × 9.9 cm
8 in (20 cm)	4.8 × 5.5 in	12.2 × 14 cm

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 304 Medium RedKnot of the bow, bow, tails of the bow, lid, box, ribbon, creases of the bow and swags of the paper

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 strandsKnot of the bow, bow, tails of the bow, lid, box, ribbon
Back stitch 2 strandsCreases of the bow, swags of the paper

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.