Ring of six hearts hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Ring of six hearts: preview of the stitched design

Six hearts are set in a ring with their points to the middle, like the petals of a flower. Each heart is outlined in red stem stitch and holds a small rose heart of satin stitch, and a gold woven wheel sits in the middle. A gold French knot stands between each pair of hearts, and a double ring of red stem stitch goes round them all.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses a woven wheel; from a 6 inch hoop up the widest satin stitches are long.

3 colors of floss and 4 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 × 1.7 in	4.3 × 4.3 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.5 in	6.4 × 6.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 3.4 in	8.6 × 8.6 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.2 × 4.2 in	10.7 × 10.7 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.9 × 5.9 in	15 × 15 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 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 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 304 Medium RedHearts and ring
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseSmall hearts
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawMiddle and knots

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 strandsHearts, ring
Satin stitch 2 strandsSmall hearts
Woven wheel stitch 2 strandsMiddle
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots

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.