Sunburst rainbow hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 5 colors · 1 kind of stitch

Sunburst rainbow: preview of the stitched design

A rainbow is drawn as the rising sun: a half disc of gold satin stitch sits in the middle, and four bands curve round it in red, orange, green and blue, each one band of satin stitch. A crown of fifteen gold rays stands round the outside, long and short by turns, each drawn out to a point. It is all satin stitch.

Size and details

Intermediate. Long satin stitches from a 6 inch hoop up.

5 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)	1.7 × 0.9 in	4.3 × 2.3 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 1.3 in	6.6 × 3.3 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.4 × 1.8 in	8.6 × 4.6 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.3 × 2.2 in	10.9 × 5.6 cm	7/16 in (11 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6 × 3.1 in	15.2 × 7.9 cm	9/16 in (14 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 9/16 in (14 mm) 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.

The pattern is drawn inside a circle about half an inch (1.3 cm) smaller all around than the hoop.

What you need

DMC 304 Medium RedOuter band
DMC 922 Light CopperSecond band
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenThird band
DMC 3755 Baby BlueInner band
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawSun and rays

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 strandsBands, sun, rays

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.