Two round bands of sheaf stitch hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Two round bands of sheaf stitch: preview of the stitched design

Two round bands, one inside the other, make a small practice piece for sheaf stitch. Four coral circles in stem stitch mark them out: the outer band lies between the two largest circles and the inner band between the two smallest. The outer band holds twenty-four sheaves and the inner band twelve. The stitches of the sheaves are gold, three to a sheaf, standing apart on the circles and drawn together at the middle by the ties of the sheaves in brown. Twenty-four coral French knots lie between the bands, and thirty-seven more fill the center. Each sheaf, its three gold stitches and its brown tie together, is one sheaf stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Dozens of French knots.

3 colors of floss and 3 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.9 × 1.9 in	4.8 × 4.8 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.8 in	7.1 × 7.1 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3.8 × 3.8 in	9.7 × 9.7 cm
6 in (15 cm)	4.7 × 4.7 in	11.9 × 11.9 cm
8 in (20 cm)	6.6 × 6.6 in	16.8 × 16.8 cm

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 351 CoralFour circles, knots between the bands and knots at the center
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawStitches of the sheaves
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownTies of the sheaves

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 strandsFour circles
Sheaf stitch 2 strandsStitches of the sheaves, ties of the sheaves
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots between the bands, knots at the 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.