Snow globe with a fir tree hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Snow globe with a fir tree: preview of the stitched design

A snow globe stands on its base. Inside the glass a fir in four tiers of fishbone stitch stands on a short trunk in a snowdrift under a satin stitch star, with the falling snow as twelve French knots, four large and eight small, the same to either side of the tree. The glass and the drift are stem stitch, and the base is outlined in stem stitch between a collar and a foot of satin stitch, with a row of five satin stitch diamonds.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long fishbone stitches.

5 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)	1.4 × 1.6 in	3.6 × 4.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.1 × 2.4 in	5.3 × 6.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.7 × 3.1 in	6.9 × 7.9 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.4 × 3.9 in	8.6 × 9.9 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.8 × 5.5 in	12.2 × 14 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)

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 3852 Very Dark StrawTrunk of the fir, star on the fir and diamonds on the base
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenFir
DMC 3755 Baby BlueSnowdrift and glass
DMC B5200 Snow WhiteLarge snowflakes and small snowflakes
DMC 304 Medium RedBase outline, collar of the base and foot of the base

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 strandsTrunk of the fir, star on the fir, collar of the base, foot of the base, diamonds on the base
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsFir
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsSnowdrift, glass, base outline
French knot 2 strands for the small snowflakes and 4 for the large, two wrapsLarge snowflakes, small snowflakes

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.