Star of Bethlehem hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 2 colors · 1 kind of stitch

Star of Bethlehem: preview of the stitched design

The star of Bethlehem has four long points, the lowest the longest, and four short points between them. Every point is split down its middle into a dark half and a light half of satin stitch, each laid its own way, so that the star seems to stand up from the cloth and the light catches its sixteen facets in turn.

Size and details

Easy. Short satin stitches, no shading.

2 colors of floss and 1 kind of stitch:

Satin stitch
Which stitch goes where

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.1 × 1.7 in	2.8 × 4.3 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	1.7 × 2.5 in	4.3 × 6.4 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.2 × 3.4 in	5.6 × 8.6 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	2.8 × 4.2 in	7.1 × 10.7 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	3.9 × 5.9 in	9.9 × 15 cm	5/16 in (8 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 3852 Very Dark StrawDark half of a point
DMC 726 Light TopazLight half of a point

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 strandsDark half of a point, light half of a point

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.