Scalloped concho with a flower hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Scalloped concho with a flower: preview of the stitched design

A concho, the round metal ornament of a saddle or a belt, is seen face on. Its scalloped edge is outlined in gray stem stitch, eighteen scallops with a gold French knot rivet in each. Inside the edge runs the rope ring, two gray lines of stem stitch with a gold chain stitch rope between them. Within the ring a gray satin stitch sunburst of eighteen long rays, one pointing at each scallop, spreads around the middle ring, which is outlined in gray stem stitch. Inside the middle ring sits a flower of eight teal satin stitch petals around a gold satin stitch flower center.

Size and details

Intermediate. Satin stitch over about a sixth of the cloth in a 6 inch hoop; from a 6 inch hoop up some of the 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)	1.9 × 1.9 in	4.8 × 4.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.9 in	7.1 × 7.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.8 × 3.8 in	9.7 × 9.7 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.7 × 4.8 in	11.9 × 12.2 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.6 × 6.7 in	16.8 × 17 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 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 414 Dark Steel GrayScalloped edge, rope ring, sunburst and middle ring outline
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawRivets, rope and flower center
DMC 597 TurquoiseFlower petals

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 strandsScalloped edge, rope ring, middle ring outline
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsRivets
Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsRope
Satin stitch 2 strandsSunburst, flower petals, flower 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.