Skeleton key in laurel hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 5 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Skeleton key in laurel: preview of the stitched design

An old door key with a five-lobed bow (its handle) and a bit, the part that turns the lock, to each side stands upright in an open laurel wreath tied with a ribbon bow at its foot. The bow of the key is outlined in stem stitch, with an eyelet in each lobe (a ring of satin stitch round a small opening) and a small round boss of satin stitch in the middle; the shaft, the collar and the bits are satin stitch with a satin ball at the tip, the laurel leaves are satin stitch on stems of stem stitch, and the ribbon bow is satin stitch with a padded knot.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: short satin stitches, no shading, with a little padded satin stitch; in a larger hoop the widest 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)	1.7 × 1.8 in	4.3 × 4.6 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 2.7 in	6.6 × 6.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 3.6 in	8.6 × 9.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.3 × 4.5 in	10.9 × 11.4 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6 × 6.2 in	15.2 × 15.7 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)

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 GreenStems and darker half of each leaf
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLighter half of each leaf
DMC 304 Medium RedRibbon bow, ribbon tails and ribbon knot
DMC 336 Navy BlueBow of the key, eyelets of the bow, bits and shaft
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawBoss of the bow, collar and tip

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 strandsStems, bow of the key
Satin stitch 2 strandsLeaves (each half slanted to the center vein, in its own color), ribbon bow, ribbon tails, eyelets of the bow, boss of the bow, bits, shaft, collar, tip
Padded satin stitch 2 strandsRibbon knot

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.