Thatched cottage in three reds hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Thatched cottage in three reds: preview of the stitched design

A thatched cottage is seen from the front, the same left and right, in garnet, red and coral. The walls, the roof, the arched door and the two window frames are garnet stem stitch, and the window bars are back stitch. The ridge of the thatch is red satin stitch with a scalloped lower edge, over two rows of red back stitch scallops for the thatch. A red satin stitch heart sits on the door, and each window has a box of three coral French knot flowers. At each side a coral lazy daisy flower with a red French knot center stands on a garnet stem stitch stalk with two lazy daisy leaves, on a garnet satin stitch ground.

Size and details

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

3 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)	1.7 × 1 in	4.3 × 2.5 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 1.5 in	6.6 × 3.8 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 2 in	8.6 × 5.1 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.3 × 2.5 in	10.9 × 6.4 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6 × 3.5 in	15.2 × 8.9 cm	9/16 in (14 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 9/16 in (14 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 or 4 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 815 Medium GarnetGround, walls, roof, door, window frames and window boxes, window bars, stalks, and leaves
DMC 304 Medium RedRidge of the thatch, thatch, heart on the door and centers of the flowers at the sides
DMC 351 CoralFlowers in the window boxes and flowers at the sides

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

Satin stitch 2 strandsGround, ridge of the thatch, heart on the door
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsWalls, roof, door, window frames and window boxes, stalks
Back stitch 2 strandsThatch, window bars
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsFlowers in the window boxes, centers of the flowers at the sides
Lazy daisy stitch 2 strandsLeaves, flowers at the sides

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.