Atomic starburst hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 3 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Atomic starburst: preview of the stitched design

A mid-century starburst has four slim tapered spikes, four diagonal rays tipped with knots and sixteen shorter rays of two lengths, all round a small center knot, with two little sparkles beside it. The spikes are satin stitch worked across their width, every ray is one long straight stitch and the center, the ray tips and the sparkle centers are French knots.

Size and details

Easy. Straight stitch and French knots, with some short satin stitches.

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)	1.4 × 1.6 in	3.6 × 4.1 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.1 × 2.4 in	5.3 × 6.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.8 × 3.2 in	7.1 × 8.1 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.4 × 4 in	8.6 × 10.2 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.8 × 5.6 in	12.2 × 14.2 cm	1/4 in (6 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 3852 Very Dark StrawLong spikes and short rays
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseDiagonal rays and sparkles
DMC 922 Light CopperRay tips, center and sparkle centers

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 strandsLong spikes
Straight stitch 2 strandsDiagonal rays, short rays, sparkles
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsRay tips, center, sparkle centers

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.