Ship’s wheel medallion hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Ship’s wheel medallion: preview of the stitched design

A ship’s wheel is seen face on, with eight spokes and a broad rim. The outer middle is a brown disc in padded satin stitch, and the inner middle is a smaller gold disc of satin stitch laid on it. Eight tan spokes in satin stitch run out from the middle, each swelling once along its length, passing under the rim and ending in a rounded handle beyond it. The rim is a brown band of satin stitch. A gold French knot sits on the rim where each spoke crosses it, eight in all.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses padded satin stitch.

3 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)	1.8 × 1.8 in	4.6 × 4.6 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 2.7 in	6.9 × 6.9 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.5 × 3.5 in	8.9 × 8.9 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.4 × 4.4 in	11.2 × 11.2 cm	9/16 in (14 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.2 × 6.2 in	15.7 × 15.7 cm	13/16 in (21 mm)

In a 5, 6 or 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) or more 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 3828 Hazelnut BrownSpokes
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownRim and outer middle
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawInner middle 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

Satin stitch 2 strandsSpokes, rim, inner middle
Padded satin stitch 2 strandsOuter middle
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.