Holly leaf snowflake hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Holly leaf snowflake: preview of the stitched design

Six sprigs of holly are set out as a snowflake round a cluster of seven berries in the middle. Each arm starts with one dark green holly leaf pointing out from the middle, then a single berry, then three more leaves: a dark green holly leaf that carries the arm on and a light green side leaf slanting out to each side. All the leaves are fishbone stitch, and the berries are red French knots.

Size and details

Easy. Simple stitches in three colors.

3 colors of floss and 2 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters
3 in (8 cm)	1.7 × 1.9 in	4.3 × 4.8 cm
4 in (10 cm)	2.5 × 2.9 in	6.4 × 7.4 cm
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 3.9 in	8.6 × 9.9 cm
6 in (15 cm)	4.2 × 4.8 in	10.7 × 12.2 cm
8 in (20 cm)	5.9 × 6.8 in	15 × 17.3 cm

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 304 Medium RedBerries in the middle and berries on the arms
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenHolly leaves
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenSide leaves

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

French knot 2 strands, two wrapsBerries in the middle, berries on the arms
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsHolly leaves, side leaves

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.