Snowflake in a ring of knots hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Snowflake in a ring of knots: preview of the stitched design

A snowflake sits inside a ring of thirty-six French knots. Six solid diamonds of light blue satin stitch stand round a navy French knot in the middle, and a branched arm runs on from each: a line of navy back stitch with two pairs of side branches. The knots of the ring are teal.

Size and details

Intermediate. Dozens of French knots.

3 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)	1.9 × 1.9 in	4.8 × 4.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.8 in	7.1 × 7.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.7 × 3.7 in	9.4 × 9.4 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.7 × 4.7 in	11.9 × 11.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.5 × 6.5 in	16.5 × 16.5 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)

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 3755 Baby BlueDiamonds
DMC 336 Navy BlueArms, side branches and middle knot
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseRing of knots

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 strandsDiamonds
Back stitch 2 strandsArms, side branches
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsMiddle knot, ring of knots

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.