Taj Mahal from the front hand embroidery pattern

Intermediate · 3 colors · 4 kinds of stitch

Taj Mahal from the front: preview of the stitched design

The Taj Mahal is seen from the front, the same left and right. The blue great dome rises in three courses to a pointed cap and stands on a blue drum over the middle block, whose walls and great arch are drawn in navy back stitch lines round a navy door. A lower wing at each side holds two navy niches, one above the other, under a small dome, and a minaret with its own small dome stands at each end of the blue terrace. A gold French knot finial tops every dome, and four rows of blue stem stitch water lie below, each shorter than the one above. The dark openings (the door and the niches), the terrace, the ledges (the bars under the small domes and across the minarets), the drum, the domes and the cap are satin stitch.

Size and details

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

3 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)	1.7 × 1.9 in	4.3 × 4.8 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	2.6 × 2.8 in	6.6 × 7.1 cm	1/4 in (6 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	3.5 × 3.7 in	8.9 × 9.4 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	4.4 × 4.6 in	11.2 × 11.7 cm	3/8 in (10 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	6.1 × 6.5 in	15.5 × 16.5 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 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 BlueWall lines with the great arch and dark openings
DMC 3755 Baby BlueTerrace, ledges, drum, great dome, small domes and cap, and water
DMC 3852 Very Dark StrawFinials

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

Back stitch 2 strandsWall lines with the great arch
Satin stitch 2 strandsDark openings, terrace, ledges and drum, great dome, small domes and cap
French knot 2 strands, two wrapsFinials
Stem stitch 2 or 3 strandsWater

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.