Solar eclipse corona hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 2 kinds of stitch

Solar eclipse corona: preview of the stitched design

The design shows a total eclipse of the sun. The moon is seven rings of navy chain stitch, one inside the next, with the cloth showing through the loops; the corona round it is twenty-four slender pointed rays, long ones in gold and short ones in pale yellow by turns, each worked across in satin stitch.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading.

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)	1.8 × 1.8 in	4.6 × 4.6 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.7 × 2.7 in	6.9 × 6.9 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.6 × 3.6 in	9.1 × 9.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.5 × 4.5 in	11.4 × 11.4 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.3 × 6.3 in	16 × 16 cm	1/4 in (6 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 336 Navy BlueMoon
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawLong rays of the corona
DMC 726 Light TopazShort rays of the corona

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

Chain stitch 2 or 3 strandsMoon
Satin stitch 2 strandsLong rays of the corona, short rays of the corona

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.