Ring of thread spools and buttons hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Ring of thread spools and buttons: preview of the stitched design

Five spools of thread and five buttons are strung by turns on one thread to make a ring. The thread the spools are strung on is green satin stitch and shows between each spool and the button beside it. Each spool lies along the ring, with tan satin stitch ends and bands of satin stitch thread wound between them: one spool pink at the top, two teal at the upper sides and two gold at the lower sides. The buttons, two gold above, two pink at the sides and one teal at the foot, are rims of satin stitch, each round two green French knots for its holes. In the middle is a daisy of ten pink satin stitch petals round a gold center in woven wheel stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses a woven wheel and satin stitch over about a quarter of the cloth in a 6 inch hoop; from a 6 inch hoop up some of the satin stitches are long.

5 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.9 × 1.8 in	4.8 × 4.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.7 in	7.1 × 6.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.7 × 3.7 in	9.4 × 9.4 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.6 × 4.6 in	11.7 × 11.7 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.5 × 6.4 in	16.5 × 16.3 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 986 Very Dark Forest GreenThread the spools are strung on and holes of the buttons
DMC 3350 Ultra Dark Dusty RoseThread on the top spool, two side buttons and daisy petals
DMC 3828 Hazelnut BrownEnds of the spools
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseThread on the two upper side spools and button at the foot
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawThread on the two lower spools, two upper buttons and daisy center

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 strandsThread the spools are strung on, thread on the spools, ends of the spools, rims of the buttons, daisy petals
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsHoles of the buttons
Woven wheel stitch 2 strandsDaisy center

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.