Crystal chain snowflake hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Crystal chain snowflake: preview of the stitched design

A snowflake has six arms that spread from a navy hexagon in the middle. Each arm is a chain of three teal crystals, smaller toward the tip: a large crystal next to the middle, then a knot, a second crystal, another knot and an end crystal. Two blue side crystals slant out from the first knot of each arm, one to each side. The middle and all the crystals are satin stitch, and the knots are navy French knots.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 6 inch hoop up.

3 colors of floss and 2 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 × 1.9 in	4.3 × 4.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.9 in	6.4 × 7.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 3.9 in	8.6 × 9.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.2 × 4.8 in	10.7 × 12.2 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.9 × 6.8 in	15 × 17.3 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 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 336 Navy BlueMiddle and knots
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseLarge crystals, second crystals and end crystals
DMC 3755 Baby BlueSide crystals

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 strandsMiddle, large crystals, second crystals, side crystals, end crystals
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.