Suzani medallion in satin stitch hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 7 colors · 5 kinds of stitch

Suzani medallion in satin stitch: preview of the stitched design

A round flower in the manner of a suzani, the embroidered cloth of Central Asia, has a woven wheel at its heart, eight coral petals with a gold French knot between their tips, and a ring of sixteen red scallops. A navy vine circles it and carries four pomegranates, each with a crown and three seeds, and four buds, each between two curling leaves. The petals, scallops, vine, pomegranates and buds are satin stitch with a line of bare cloth between the pieces, the leaves are long and short stitch, their stalks are stem stitch and the seeds are French knots.

Size and details

Intermediate. Uses long and short stitch.

7 colors of floss and 5 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	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.9 × 2.9 in	7.4 × 7.4 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.8 × 3.8 in	9.7 × 9.7 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.8 × 4.8 in	12.2 × 12.2 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.7 × 6.7 in	17 × 17 cm	5/16 in (8 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 StrawFlower center, dots between the petals and pomegranate seeds
DMC 351 CoralPetals and buds
DMC 304 Medium RedScalloped ring
DMC 336 Navy BlueVine and leaf stalks
DMC 815 Medium GarnetPomegranates and pomegranate crowns
DMC 3809 Very Dark TurquoiseDarker half of each leaf
DMC 597 TurquoiseLighter half of each leaf

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

Woven wheel stitch 2 strandsFlower center
Satin stitch 2 strandsPetals, scalloped ring, vine, pomegranates, pomegranate crowns, buds
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsDots between the petals, pomegranate seeds
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsLeaf stalks
Long and short stitch 1 or 2 strandsLeaves

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.