Tall pumpkin with tendrils hand embroidery pattern

Easy · 4 colors · 3 kinds of stitch

Tall pumpkin with tendrils: preview of the stitched design

A tall pumpkin of seven lobes is seen from the front: each lobe is one flowing line of stem stitch from the top to the foot, bowed with the swell of the flank and wrapped behind the lobe in front of it. The stalk is satin stitch, and from it a vine each side arches up to a fishbone stitch leaf and sends a tendril out over the shoulder, where it winds into a full curl. It is nearly all line work.

Size and details

Easy. Stem stitch and fishbone stitch, with some short satin stitches.

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)	1.2 × 1.8 in	3 × 4.6 cm	1/16 in (1.6 mm)
4 in (10 cm)	1.8 × 2.7 in	4.6 × 6.9 cm	1/8 in (3 mm)
5 in (13 cm)	2.4 × 3.6 in	6.1 × 9.1 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
6 in (15 cm)	3 × 4.4 in	7.6 × 11.2 cm	3/16 in (5 mm)
8 in (20 cm)	4.3 × 6.2 in	10.9 × 15.7 cm	5/16 in (8 mm)

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

What you need

DMC 922 Light CopperPumpkin
DMC 986 Very Dark Forest GreenVines and tendrils
DMC 320 Medium Pistachio GreenLeaves
DMC 3781 Dark Mocha BrownStalk

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 strandsPumpkin, vines, tendrils
Fishbone stitch 2 strandsLeaves
Satin stitch 2 strandsStalk

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.