Six color rainbow hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 6 colors · 1 kind of stitch

Six color rainbow: preview of the stitched design

A plain rainbow has six bands in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Each band is one unbroken line of chain stitch that goes over, turns at the foot and comes back beside itself, so every band is two rows wide with closed ends. It is all one stitch, and the six colors are those of the Pride flag.

Size and details

Easy. Chain stitch only, in six colors.

6 colors of floss and 1 kind of stitch:

Chain stitch
Which stitch goes where

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 0.8 in	3.8 × 2 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 1.2 in	5.6 × 3 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 1.5 in	7.6 × 3.8 cm
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 1.9 in	9.4 × 4.8 cm
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 2.7 in	13.2 × 6.9 cm

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 RedOuter band
DMC 922 Light CopperSecond band
DMC 726 Light TopazThird band
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenFourth band
DMC 3755 Baby BlueFifth band
DMC 208 Very Dark LavenderInner band

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

Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsBands

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.