Eye with sun rays hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Eye with sun rays: preview of the stitched design

An eye has rays all round it like a sun. The lids are stem stitch, and the iris and the pupil are rounds of satin stitch with a French knot of light. Twenty-four rays stand round the eye as single straight stitches, long and short by turns, with a French knot beyond each short ray.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches.

5 colors of floss and 4 kinds of stitch:

The stitched size and the widest satin stitch, by hoop
Hoop	Inches	Centimeters	Satin stitch up to
3 in (8 cm)	1.5 × 1.1 in	3.8 × 2.8 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.2 × 1.6 in	5.6 × 4.1 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3 × 2.2 in	7.6 × 5.6 cm	11/16 in (17 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3.7 × 2.7 in	9.4 × 6.9 cm	7/8 in (22 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	5.2 × 3.8 in	13.2 × 9.7 cm	1 1/4 in (32 mm)

In a 4, 5, 6 or 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 mm) or more across. Satin stitches longer than about 12 mm (just under 1/2 in) tend to work loose: divide the shape into sections, or work it in long and short stitch.
In a 3 or 4 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 336 Navy BlueLids
DMC 3755 Baby BlueIris
DMC 3799 Very Dark Pewter GrayPupil
DMC B5200 Snow WhiteLight in the eye
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawRays and ray tips

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

Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsLids
Satin stitch 2 strandsIris, pupil
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsLight in the eye, ray tips
Straight stitch 2 strandsRays

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.