Sundial with sun rays hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Sundial with sun rays: preview of the stitched design

A garden sundial is seen from above and drawn as the sun. The round plate has a double rim of navy stem stitch with twelve gold French knots for the hours between its two lines. The pointer stands on its round gold foot near the lower edge and runs up the middle to the rim in two long halves, one rust and one orange. A navy half ring arches round the foot, and eight navy lines fan from it to the rim. Outside the rim stand twenty-four rays, long gold and short orange by turns. The rays, the pointer and its foot are satin stitch; the half ring and the eight lines are stem stitch.

Size and details

Easy. In a hoop of 6 inches or less: short satin stitches, no shading; in a larger hoop the widest satin stitches are long.

4 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)	1.9 × 1.9 in	4.8 × 4.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.8 × 2.8 in	7.1 × 7.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.8 × 3.8 in	9.7 × 9.7 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.7 × 4.7 in	11.9 × 11.9 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.6 × 6.6 in	16.8 × 16.8 cm	1/2 in (13 mm)

In an 8 inch hoop the widest satin stitch shape is 1/2 in (13 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.
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 rays, knots of the hours and foot of the pointer
DMC 922 Light CopperShort rays and orange half of the pointer
DMC 336 Navy BlueRim of the plate, half ring round the foot and lines on the plate
DMC 355 Dark Terra CottaRust half of the pointer

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 rays, short rays, pointer, foot of the pointer
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsRim of the plate, half ring round the foot, lines on the plate
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsKnots of the hours

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.